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MY RECOLLECTIONS 



MY 
RECOLLECTIONS 



BY 



PRINCESS CATHERINE I^ADZIWILL 



NEW YORK 
JAMES POTT df COMPANY 

1904 






(^Bi 



7 ¥- 



06 



TO 
IN MEMORY OF THE THIRTEENTH. 



PREFACE 

THIS book has no pretensions to be any- 
thing else but a simple narration of 
things I have seen, and descriptions of people I 
have met. It does not aspire to be considered 
as a volume of memoirs destined to clear up 
historical points of interest. It is merely a little 
book of recollections which perhaps may amuse 
those who have lived through the same scenes, 
and moved in the same circles that I have done 
in various parts of Europe. Existence nowadays 
is such a rush that the events of yesterday are 
just as much forgotten as those of a century ago, 
and I dare say that very few men and women will 
be found who give a thought to what happened 
ten or twenty years ago. Everything changes 
so quickly that it has seemed to me it would be 
interesting to fix the remembrance of those last 
days of the century which so recently came to an 
end. The whole aspect of the political and social 
world was then so entirely different from what it 
has become since the commanding personality of 
Prince Bismarck was withdrawn from the stage 

of this world's affairs. 

vii 



PREFACE 

When I entered society, the German Empire 
had been scarcely three years in existence. 
PVance was writhing still in the convulsions of 
her late defeat ; Russia was slowly trying to re- 
cover the many advantages of which the Crimean 
war had deprived her. Motor-cars were unknown, 
electric light was still spoken of as something 
quite extraordinary, and the telephone was not 
yet one of the resources of civilisation. Manners, 
too, were different from those which prevail 
to-day. The hunt after notoriety had not 
transformed individuals into self-advertising per- 
sonages of a stamp which is only too familiar. 
Society was quieter, more sedate ; adventurers 
had still a bad time of it, and the American ele- 
ment had not altogether invaded us. Whilst I 
was writing this book, I often asked myself 
whether it was possible that I had lived in times 
so entirely different from the present. 

It is because society has altered that this book 

may amuse some people and bore others. The 

only merit I will claim for it is, that it is a 

true account of events of which I am cognisant. 

Personal feeling has played such an important 

part ahke in the German and Russian Courts 

that it is only by knowing people that one can 

understand political incidents. I have tried to 

make the book just in its appreciation of indi- 

viii 



PREFACE 

viduals, and if I have wounded any suscepti- 
bilities such has been far from my intention. I 
have met with many kindnesses in the world, 
and after all I have not found it such a bad 
one; perhaps because I have never asked much 
from it, having tried to practise the maxim of 
Beaumarchais, that it is better to laugh than to 
cry. I have come across bad people, of course, 
but I have also met characters such as those of 
the late Emperor and Empress Frederick, who 
alone would convince the greatest of misanthropes 
to acknowledge the more lofty claims of humanity. 
My book, I hope, will be accepted by its readers 
for what I have meant it to be — a tribute of 
gratitude to some people and of kind feehngs 
to others. More than that it does not profess 
to be. 

CATHERINE RADZIWILL. 



London, August 17th, 1904. 



IX 



I 

i CONTENTS. 



j - CHAPTER I. 

PAGE 

My Birth and Ancestry— The Family Curse — The Golden- Bearded 
Hetman — My Family Home— My Father and his First Wife — 
Korsoun — My Father's Brothers — A Dangerous Mission — 
Emperor Nicholas I. — A Family Ghost Story— The Empress 
Eugenie — The New Emperor — 'The Burial Ground of the 
Czars '—My Father's Noble Character 1-91 



CHAPTER n. 

My Aunts— Madame Lacroix' Deception — Her Salon— The Biblio- 
phile Jacob— M. de St. Araand — Madame de Balzac — The True 
Story of the Balzacs -What is Happiness ? — The Hotel Balzac — 
L'Abbe Constant— The Commune — * Madame ' and ' Citoyenne ' 22-38 

CHAPTER HI. 

My Mother's Family — The PaschkofFs Reminiscence of the Polish 
Mutiny — Attempt on the Czar's Life — Character of Alexander H. 
The Beautiful Princess Dagmar — Franco-Prussian War — The 
Surrender of Sedan — In Paris after the Commune — I am 
Engaged to be Married — My Presentation at Court — My 
Wedding 39-60 

CHAPTER IV. 

Berlin After the War — Emperor or King? — The Old Radziwill 
Palace — Family Parties — The Emperor William's First Love — 
I meet Von Moltke — My First State Dinner — Am Presented to 
the Empress — The Prince and Princess Charles — The Red 
Prince — A Court in Mourning — ' Un Cadeau de la Reine ' — 
Entertainments at Court — The Beautiful Duchess of Man- 
chester — I dine with the Emperor 61-87 



CONTENTS. 
CHAPTER V, 

PAGB 

The Real Emperor William I. — His Tact and Unselfishness as a 

Man — His Rapacity as a Sovereign — Relations with Bismarck 'j 

— The Crown Prince Frederick contrasted with his Father — I 

His Pride in the Empire — His Scruples — His Sympathy with 
me in my first great Sorrow ...... 88-105 , 



CHAPTER VI. 

Prince Bismarck and the Kulturkampf — ' Politique en jupons ' — 
The Chancellor under-estimates the Folly of his Opponents — 
The Radziwill Palace as the Centre of Catholic Intrigue — 
Archbishop Ledochowski's Imprisonment — The Catholic 
Leaders, Mallinkrodt and Windthorst — Bismarck's Attitude 
towards the Crown Prince — and towards the Emperor — The 
Character of Princess Bismarck — Count Herbert — How the 
Iron Chancellor won his Way 106-133 



CHAPTER VII. 

The Princess Victoria's Influence on Berlin Society — Lord Ampthill 
— The other Ambassadors — The Princess of Wales — A Story of 
the Russian Empress's Visit to England — Court Entertain- 
ments — Outbreak of the Russo-Turkish War — SkobelefF and 
Osraan Pasha — An Incident of the Shipka Pass — The Treaty 
of San Stefano 124-140 



CHAPTER VIII. 

A Double Royal Wedding — ^Prince Bismarck does not Dance — 
Hodel's Attempt on the Emperor William's Life — Nobiling's 
Crime— Days of Suspense—The Regency — Assembhng of the 
Berlin Congress — Lord Beaconsfield — Other Figures at the Con- 
gress — The Congress itself a Farce 141-154 



CHAPTER IX. 

The King's Recovery— Marriage of Prince Henry of the Netherlands 
—The Difficult Position of the Regent— Emperor William's 
Return to Berlin— Enthusiasm at the Opera— The Crown Prince 
and Anti-Sociahst Legislation — Herr Bebel-— Death of the 
Princess Alice and of Prince Waldemar— The White Lady— 
The Emperor's Golden Wedding 155-166 



CONTENTS. 
CHAPTER X. 

PAGE 

The Growing Unpopularity of the Czar— His Treatment of the 
Empress — A Reign of Terror in St. Petersburg— Death of the 
Empress — T'he Emperor Marries the Princess Dolgorouki — 
Assassination of Alexander H. — The Scene at the Death-bed — 
Alexander HI.— Count Ignatiev — I go to Constantinople . 167-180 

CHAPTER XL 

Stay at Consttintinople— Different Sights — Life on the Bosphorus — 
Lord and Lady DufFerin^The Corps Diplomatique — Osman 
and Mukhtar Pachas — Departure for Russia . . . 181-189 

CHAPTER XIL 

My First Winter at St. Petersburg — The Emperor Alexander HL 
and the Empress — Russian Society at the beginning of their 
Reign — General Ignatiev and his Struggle with General 
Tcherewine — The Zemski Sobor — Fall of Ignatiev — General 
SkobelefF and his Speeches — His Death in Moscow . 190-214 

CHAPTER XIII. 

The Death of Madame de Balzac — Return to Berlin — Silver 
Wedding of the Crown Prince and Princess — Prince William 
of Prussia — The Coronation of the Emperor Alexander III. 215-236 

CHAPTER XIV. 

A Few more Words about Moscow — The Beginning of the Bulgarian 
Trouble — Prince Bismarck and the Expulsion of Russian 
Subjects from Germany — Another Winter in Berlin — The 
Position of Prince William— Relations with his Father — The 
Marriage of the Grand Duke of Hesse — I receive a Message 
from Queen Victoria — Countess Schleinitz — A Summer in 
Dieppe — Death of Lord Ampthill — The Alexander Dumas — 
Death of Mme. Lacroix 23T-254 



CHAPTER XV. 

Brussels and Madame de ViUeneuve — We spend a Part of the Winter 
in St. Petersburg— Death of Prince Frederick Charles of Prussia 
and of Field-Marshal von Manteuffel — The Appointment of his 
Successor — Various Intrigues— Death of Prince Orloff, Russian 
Ambassador in Berlin— The Celebration of Prince Bismarck's 
Seventieth Birthday 255-265 



CONTENTS. 
CHAPTER XVI. 

PAGE 

Appointment of Count Schouwaloff as Russian Arabanssador in 
Berlin— Our Dinner in his Honour— Its Consequeii ices — The 
Marriage of M. Bernard von Bulow, the present ; German 
Chancellor — The Epidemic of Measles — I nearly Die faVrom them 
— My Husband's Serious Illness— Last Interview with the 
Crown Prince — We are ordered to Egypt for my H usband's 
Health— Our Winter there— First Rumours about the ; Crown 
Prince's Dangerous State of Health . . . . \ . 266-281 

) 

CHAPTER XVII. <^ 

We return to Russia— The Emperor William's Death — Theri^ Begin- 
ning and End of a Reign — My Father's Death — We setVAi''^ in 
St. Petersburg — The First Days of the Empress Frederick's 
Widowhood — St. Petersburg Society under Alexander III. — 
Bismarck's Fall — A Season in London — The Duke of York's 
Wedding 282-293 

CHAPTER XVIII. 

The Winter of 1893-1894— Beginning of the Illness of Alexander III. 
— Our Journey to Italy- — An Audience of Pope Leo XIII. — 
Cardinal Ledochowski — Another Summer in England — Death of 
Alexander III 294-306 



CHAPTER XIX. 

The Emperor's Funeral — I see the Empress Frederick in BerHn — 
Her Appreciation of Events in Russia, and her Opinion of its 
future Empress's Character^Nicholas II. 's Marriage — Impres- 
sion produced in St. Petersburg by his Consort — Address of 
the Zemstwo of Twer — Death of General Tcherewine . 307-316 



CHAPTER XX. 

Another Coronation — The Consolidation of the French Alliance — 
Nicholas II. 's Journey to Paris — Prince Bismarck's Death — 
I spend a Winter on the Riviei-a — My Last Interview with 
the Empress Frederick— The Beginning of the End . 317-328 



CHAPTER XXI. 

Cecil Rhodes — An Appreciation — Cecil Rhodes' Character— A Man 
of Moods— His Colossal Ambition — His Satellites — Personal 
Relations — His Last Hours — His Inner Thoughts— His Conduct 

during the War 329-346 

xiv 



MY RECOLLECTIONS 



CHAPTER I. 

My Birth and Ancestry — The Family Curse — The Golden- 
bearded Hetman — My Family Home — My Father ami his 
First Wife — Korsoun — My Father'' s Brothers — A Dan- 
gerous Mission — Emperor Nicholas I. — A Family Ghost 
Story — The Empress Eugenie — The New Emperor — 
^The Burial-grou/nd of the Czars'' — My Father'' s Nolle 
Character. 

I WAS born on the 30th of March, 1858, in St. 
Petersburg. My father. Count Adam Rzewuski, 
belonged to one of the oldest, and most illustrious 
families of Poland. One of his aunts had been 
the wife of King Stanislas Leszczinski (not 
Leczinski, as the French generally speU it), the 
father of the consort of Louis XV. His great- 
grandfather is remembered to this day as one of 
the heroes of Polish History; he was among the 
few nobles whom Catherine II. of Russia com- 
plimented by having them seized one night and 
carried off to Siberia, so thoroughly did she fear 
their opposition to her favourite. King Stanislas 
Poniatowski. One of my ancestors had besieged 
the Kremlin at Moscow, and taken it by storm 
at the time of the false Demetrius, during the 
reign of King Sigismund Augustus. Another had 
died from wounds received at the famous siege 
i Vienna by Kara Mustapha. He was a personal 
friend of King John Sobieski, and he left behind 



MY RECOLLECTIONS 

him the memory of a great name and an un- 
blemished reputation. We came of a strong, clever, 
brave race, famous for personal courage and re- 
markable intelligence; indeed there is a proverb 
which says 'the wit of a Rzewuski,' just as one 
speaks in France of 'I'esprit des Mortemart,' but 
we were never a lucky or a happy race. The 
shadow of a curse lay upon us — a curse which like 
the secret of the Strathmores has been transmitted 
from father to son, and darkened the lives of all 
those who bore our name. Tradition says that in 
bygone days a Rzewuski walled up his mother 
alive in one of the towers of their old castle, and 
that she cursed all their descendants, and pro- 
phesied for them ill luck in all they would attempt 
to do, and either a violent or a sudden death. The 
prediction has been strangely fulfilled, for scarcely 
a member of my family has died in his or her bed, 
and certainly misfortune has dogged their footsteps. 
Gifted with singular personal beauty, with the rarest 
qualities of heart and mind, they have never kno^vn 
what happiness was, and led, most of them, mise- 
rable lives. One of my aunts was a friend of the 
ill-fated Queen Marie Antoinette, and like her, 
perished on the scaffold. People say that as she 
was about to be seized by the executioner, she 
turned round, and facing the angiy crowd for the 
last time, shouted out in a loud voice, 'Vive la 
Reine ! ' 

Her daughter, rescued later on by my grand- 
father, married her cousin, Wenceslas Rzewuski, 
who also met with a strange fate. He was one 

2 



A FAMILY ROMANCE 

of the leaders of the great Polish mutiny of the 
year 1830, and disappeared mysteriously during the 
battle of Daszow. A legend says he made his 
escape to the East, and lived there for many 
years in the mountains of Libanus. He had 
been before that a great traveller in Syria and an 
admirer of Lady Hester Stanhope, and among his 
family papers my father had curious letters from 
her addressed to the golden-bearded Hetman, as 
he is called to this day in Little Russia, where 
minstrels still wander, singing ballads about him 
and his exploits. His sword was picked up on the 
battlefield by a Russian officer, who was killed 
himself at the siege of Sevastopol, and when dying 
gave it to my father, who always looked upon 
it as one of his most precious possessions. It 
bears the following inscription in Polish : ' Sewerin 
Rzewuski, second Hetman of the Republic, son of 
Wenceslas Rzewuski, great Hetman of the Re- 
public, grandson of Stanislas Rzewuski, great Het- 
man of the Republic, gives this sword to his son 
and comrade Wenceslas Sewerin, for the defence 
of faith and liberty.' What became of the owner 
of the weapon no one knows, and he rests in his 
unconsecrated grave, far away from all his kindred, 
from all those he loved and who loved him. 

He left three sons: the youngest entered the 
Russian service and was killed in the Caucasus. 
The eldest, Stanislas, was at one time a candidate 
for the throne of Belgium, and died from a fall from 
his horse. The only one who survived sold the 
old family castle to Prince Sanguszko in the hope, 

3 



MY RECOLLECTIONS 

he said, of doing away with the curse, and it is 
still one of the show places of Poland. The bones 
of our murdered ancestress were, it seems, found by 
him, during some reparations done to the walls, but 
how far this is true I know not. My father was 
always very touchy on the point, and never liked 
to hear it mentioned in his presence. He had 
quarrelled with his cousin in consequence of this 
sale, the latter having refused to dispose of the 
property to one of his own family in spite of their 
having repeatedly made him offers to buy it, and 
though they made it up at last, yet relations be- 
tween them were never very cordial. I don't remem- 
ber having seen my uncle, though I have a very faint 
remembrance of his mother, my aunt Rosahe, the 
daughter of Marie Antoinette's friend. She died 
in 1865, and I was taken to see her a year before 
that at Warsaw, where she lived, and where she 
occupied a position almost regal in its importance. 
She was a tall, thin old woman, with piercing eyes, 
and a wig which deeply impressed my childish 
imagination. She had been a great friend of my 
mother's, in spite of the disparity in their ages, and 
I found among the latter's papers a great number 
of letters from her which told me a good deal 
about our family history. She had an immense 
reputation for cleverness, and was perhaps more 
feared than liked. Her only daughter, Calixte, 
married the Duke of Sermoneta, and was the 
mother of the present holder of the title, the hus- 
band of the once lovely Miss Wilbraham. She 
died young, regretted by all who knew her, leaving 

4 



A GRAND SEIGNEUR 

behind her the sweet remembrance of one of those 
beings almost too perfect for this* world. Her son has 
inherited a great deal of her personal charm and good 
looks, and he is undoubtedly one of the few very 
clever men Italy can boast of at the present time. 

The Duchess of Sermoneta and her brother 
were the last representatives of the elder branch 
of our house. It is now extinct, and my father 
with his sisters were the only survivors of all that 
generation. He was himself the second son of 
the last ambassador the Polish Republic sent to 
London and to Copenhagen, where his portrait 
may be seen in the public picture gallery. My 
gi*andfather must have been a remarkably hand- 
some man; his face and figure appear singularly 
expressive as they detach themselves from the 
canvas. The eyes have a dreamy expression, 
and the smile a mixture of mockery and mourn- 
fulness, which makes it strangely attractive. It 
is the image of a grand Seigneur of the olden 
times, and the haughtiness one sees behind the 
grace of the attitude, makes one realise and under- 
stand the character of a man who, if we are to 
believe the reputation he left behind him, was 
always faithful to the motto of his race, ' Offend 
not, and do not forgive offences.' 

Our family has always played a great part in 
politics ; since the fifteenth century my ancestors' 
names figure in all the important events and crises 
which finally led to the partition of Poland. As 
unfortunately was but too often the case in that 
country, they were often divided amongst them- 

6 



MY RECOLLECTIONS 

selves, and one brother was fighting on one side whilst 
the other gave his adherence to the opposite party^ 
My great-uncle, the grandfather of the Duchess of 
Sermoneta, was one of the nobles who signed the 
famous confederation of Targowice, which practi- 
cally gave up the country to the Russians. He was 
naturally hated by his countrymen, but subsequent 
events have proved that he was right, and had 
his advice been followed the Republic might have 
preserved a good many of its liberties, and acquired 
a strength it sadly needed. But as is usually the 
case with the wise he was not listened to, and ta 
this day his political role is not understood by 
many people. His brother, who in opposition ta 
him was one of the members of the Confederation 
of Bar, married an heiress, the daughter of Prince 
Michael Radziwill, and of the last descendant of 
the famous Prince Jeremiah Wiszniowiecki. She 
brought into our family the old fortress which had 
been stormed at such sacrifice of human life by the 
bloody Prince. It stands to this day almost in the 
same condition as it did at the time of the great 
Cossack rebellion, which he crushed so ruthlessly, 
only the drawbridges have been replaced by per- 
manent ones, and the ditches are planted with 
flowers and shrubs. But there is still standing- 
an old pavilion which was used as a gunpowder 
magazine ; under the long old house exist under- 
ground passages leading to the open plain, and in the 
park may be seen a brick column erected on the spot 
where Prince Jeremiah caused three hundred Cos- 
sacks to be put to the stake in one day. The place 

6 



MY FATHER 

reeks with blood, and everywhere may be seen the 
traces of the terrible struggle which so very nearly 
saw the end of the Polish Republic. It has got the 
traditional ghost or ghosts, and under the vault of 
the church all my ancestors sleep their last slum- 
ber. There rests my father, with his brothers and 
parents ; there lie all those who have given or added 
something towards the reputation of our race. We 
are all devoted to this home of ours ; we all remem- 
ber the days when as children we used to run in 
those old rooms, and look curiously upon the old 
pictures of the men and women whose example we 
were told to follow. 

My father was an exceedingly proud man — 
one who loved to look back upon the heroic deeds 
of those whose blood ran in his veins. He also 
was un homme d' autrefois^ with a certain amount 
of prejudice, but gifted with unusual courage, and 
perfectly fearless as regards the opinions of the 
world. He was born at the very beginning of last 
century, on Christmas Eve, 1801. Brought up 
first at the Jesuit College of Lemberg, then at 
the Military Academy at Vienna, he entered quite 
young the Austrian military service, which, how- 
ever, he very soon left, and in 1821 was admitted 
as officer in a Russian cavalry regiment. His 
father died in 1825, and in virtue of an arrange- 
ment with his elder brother, who did not care to 
take upon himself the burden of heavily encum- 
bered family estates, he came into possession of 
the old home of his race. He fought brilliantly in 
the Turkish campaign of 1828, was wounded, and 

7 



MY RECOLLECTIONS 

upon his return married a lady twenty-two years 
older than himself, who held an immense position 
at the Russian Court, and, if we are to believe the 
letters of Princess Lieven, was at one time the 
flame of the Emperor Alexander I., Madame 
Gerebtsoff, born Princess Lapoukhyn, the sister 
of that Prince Lapoukhyn, who was the husband 
of the beautiful Madame d'Alopeus, of the ' Recit 
d'une Soeur ' fame. Madame Gerebtsoff was gifted 
with unusual loveliness, to which her portraits 
which I have seen abundantly testify. She was also 
a most clever woman, who through her tact suc- 
ceeded in neither making herself nor her husband 
ridiculous, which would have been easy con- 
sidering the disparity in their ages. My father 
certainly owed to her the brilliant career he made, 
and he used always to say that she was the woman 
he had loved the most in his life. They had one 
daughter, who died young, but with her first 
husband Madame Gerebtsoff had had a girl one 
year older than my father, who, at the time of her 
mother's marriage, was herself the wife of Count 
(afterwards Prince) OrlofF, the famous favourite of 
the Emperor Nicholas I., and one of the signatories 
of the Paris Treaty, whose son was afterwards for 
so many years Ambassador to the third Republic. 
I remember old Princess OrlofF when I was a little 
girl. She had settled permanently at Florence, 
and there she died in 1876 or 1877. She was a 
formidable old lady, very clever, and who could 
be amiable when she liked. Her relations with 
my father remained always cordial, though stiff., 

8 \ 



MEMORIES OF CHILDHOOD 

He had behaved with extreme delicacy in money 
matters after his wife's death, and both Princess 
Orloff and her husband showed themselves grate- 
ful, but my father, strange to say for a man of his 
character, stood always a little in awe of his step- 
daughter, and, as far as I can remember, never 
felt quite at his ease in her presence ; she was the 
only person who could cow him, and I have 
never been able to make out whether it was em- 
barrassment or the memory of his dead wife which 
used to influence his behaviour towards the Prin- 
cess. The old Prince I never saw — he died when 
I was quite a baby ; but I can conjure to my mind 
■one of Madame GerebtsofTs sisters. Countess 
KoutaissofF, and can just remember having been 
taken to Korsoun, the country seat of the 
Lapoukhyns, and having been petted by a very 
old lady, who I was told was the mother of 
Alexandrine de La Ferronays. The circumstance 
which impressed her on my childish mind, was that 
in order to be shown to her I had been kept out 
of bed until eleven o'clock at night, which was the 
only time she appeared, having the strange habit of 
sleeping the whole day, and only getting up when 
everybody else was thinking of doing the reverse. 
She and her husband used to Uve in almost kingly 
state on their magnificent estate — one of the show 
places of Southern Russia. It has now passed into 
the possession of a nephew of the old Prince, who 
has been allowed to resuscitate the title, but the 
brilliant days of Korsoun are no more, and pro- 
bably will never be revived 

9 



MY RECOLLECTIONS 

It is when I think of all these links with a 
past which has already become a part of history 
that I realise how old I am, and how very Uttle 
I have got to do with the present generation. All 
these people whose doings and sayings formed 
part of my childish days, are forgotten even by 
their own descendants, and in telling their story 
it is hard for me to believe I am also relating 
my own. 

My father had two brothers. The elder. Count 
Henry Rzewuski, has made for himself a name as 
one of the most famous authors of fiction of his 
time in Poland. His novels, historical ones, in the 
style of Sir Walter Scott's, are to the present day 
almost as popular as Scott's ; he also wrote a few 
French books, but these were not of the fii'st rank,, 
and are now forgotten. One of them was the story 
of our family curse, and I remember once a discus- 
sion my father had with his brother on the subject, 
when I heard for the first time the words which 
since that day have been so often repeated in my 
presence whenever a new misfortune happened 
to one of our family, * We owe this again to the 
" Kunicka," ' this being the maiden name of our 
dreaded ancestress. 

My uncle Henry was one of the wittiest men 
in his country; there are innumerable sayings 
of his which have become public property, and 
which are quoted whenever the occasion arises. 
He died at a very advanced age in 1867; he 
was about fifteen or twenty years older than my 
father, and, consequently, all my remembrances; 

10 



LINKS WITH THE PAST 

of him are those of a very old man, walking- 
with great difficulty. He had an immense head, 
piercing eyes, with bushy eyebrows, and a gene- 
rally unkempt appearance. Between him and my 
father there existed a great affection, although 
they were always quarrelUng upon one subject 
or another. My uncle was the only ugly member 
of a singularly handsome family ; my father, on 
the contrary, was one of the best-looking men of 
his time, and when the two brothers found nothing 
else to nag about, they used to start a discussion 
about the influence beauty has or has not on the 
lives of men. As they were both most brilliant 
talkers, it was intensely amusing to Hsten to their 
conversations, which I only regret I was too young- 
to appreciate as they ought to have been. 

My uncle died from heart disease quite sud- 
denly, at the last, though he had been ill for a 
long time. He left no son, only two daughters, 
one of whom became the mother of that lovely 
Madame de Kolemine, whose marriage with the 
Grand Duke of Hesse, followed as it was the next 
day by a divorce, made such a stir at the time 
it happened. I shall have a good deal to say 
about it later on. 

My father's younger brother, who, if not quite 
so briUiant as the other members of the family, 
was nevertheless a very clever man, died in the 
early sixties. I don't remember having seen much 
of him ; but his son, who perished during the 
Turkish campaign of 1877-78, was a frequent 
visitor at our house. He left no male pos- 

11 



MY RECOLLECTIONS 

terity, so I will have nothing further to say about 
him, except that he had the reputation of being 
one of the handsomest men, as well as one of the 
bravest officers, in the Czar's service. 

To come back to my father, I will say that 
after his marriage with Madame Gerebtsoff he 
settled in St. Petersburg, and in a very short time 
became not only a general favourite in society, 
but also of the Emperor Nicholas I., who, up 
to his death, reposed in him the greatest con- 
fidence, and several times entrusted him with 
missions of importance abroad. 

During the Pohsh mutiny of 1830 my father 
was aide-de-camp to Field -Marshal Diebitch, in 
command of the Russian army. At one time the 
position of the Russian troops was most critical. 
The Army Corps commanded by General Rudiger 
was completely cut off from its communication 
with headquarters, and the insurgents commanded 
by General Dwernicki caught every one of the 
officers sent by the Field-Marshal with orders to 
Oeneral Rudiger. The situation was becoming 
very serious, when Count Diebitch sent for my 
father, and, after warning him that were he to be 
taken prisoner, it would not mean for him capti- 
vity but death, on account of his Polish nationality, 
he asked him whether he would undertake to cross 
the hnes of the insurgents, and transmit verbal 
orders to the invested General. My father at once 
accepted the mission, and, disguising himself as a 
pedlar, succeeded after three weeks, in making his 
way through the whole of the Polish army without 

12 



POLAND IN 1830 

being recognised, and, reaching General Rudiger, 
gave him the information which allowed the latter 
to take once more the offensive, and to join the 
headquarters, with the result that Dwernicki, to- 
gether with Ramorino, another leader of the 
mutineers, was compelled to seek refuge across the 
Austrian frontier, and to lay down their arms there. 
I have often heard my father relate the details of 
this adventurous journey, during which he risked 
his life the whole time ; for there is little doubt he 
would have met with no mercy at the hands of 
the Poles. His name would have singled him out 
for a swift retribution. This daring deed had, I 
believe, much to do with the ultimate success of 
his career, though he would never himself own it 
was the case, and it had a sequel, which I must 
relate, as it honours my father just as much as it 
does that much-caluminated sovereign, the Emperor 
Nicholas I. 

It is not generally known that he was pas- 
sionately attached to his Polish army, and not 
only did he keenly feel the treason with which his 
good intentions were repaid, but he was particularly 
incensed at the fact of his former troops having 
sought refuge in Austria, instead of trusting to his 
own generosity. When the mutiny was at last sup- 
pressed he had the colours of the few regiments 
who had not been able to cross the frontier put 
up in the Kremlin at Moscow, with an inscription 
saying that these were the flags of the traitorous 
Polish army, who had broken all its oaths to its 
sovereign. My father happened to hear of this 

13 



MY RECOLLECTIONS 

intention of the Emperor's a few days before it 
was actually executed, and he wrote to him a 
letter begging him to reconsider his decision, and 
not to give way to his resentment in a manner 
which would harm him before history and pos- 
terity. It was a beautiful letter, full of feeling and 
respect for his sovereign, but at the same time 
one of the most daring epistles that has ever been 
addressed by a subject to a monarch. After making 
an allusion to his own fidelity to his oath, he 
ended with the words, ' I beg your Majesty not 
to sully his glory by an act of mean revenge, and 
to remember that it is preferable for a sovereign 
to have on his brow a stain of blood than one of 
mud.' I will repeat the words in French, as they 
are more expressive, and convey their meaning 
better than in an English translation : ' Je sup- 
plie Votre Majeste de se souvenir qu'il est parfois 
preferable pour un Souverain d'avoir sur son front 
une tache de sang qu'une tache de boue.' If one 
remembers what kind of monarch was Nicholas, and 
at what time that letter was written, one can only 
marvel at the courage of a young man in thus 
addressing him ; but the Emperor was one of these 
generous souls who understand nobility and 
generosity in others. He rose to the occasion, 
and sent the letter to my father's wife, with the 
remark, ' Je vous renvoie la lettre de votre mari, 
Madame ; comme Souverain je devrais punir, 
comme ami, je veux oublier.' 

Few historical personages have been more 
maligned than the Emperor Nicholas, and to me, 

14 



THE EMPEROR NICHOLAS 

Vfho have had the opportunity to hear the truth, 
it is often a wonder to read and listen to all the lies 
that are told about him. In reality the Emperor 
was one of the most generous of men, and he was 
simply worshipped by all those who had ever had 
anything to do with him. I will describe in another 
book life at the court of that northern potentate, 
and how different it was from what is com- 
monly known about it. The anecdote I have 
just related will perhaps change some people's 
minds about the great-grandfather of my present 
sovereign. 

During this same Polish campaign a curious 
adventure befell my father, which perhaps will in- 
terest all lovers of the supernatural. In order to 
make people understand it, I must say that one of 
my ancestors, the same one who was seized and 
thrown into captivity by the great Catherine, had 
died and been buried in a little town in the kingdom 
of Poland called Chelm. The condition of the 
country was so troubled at the time that it was not 
possible to convey the body to the family burial- 
ground. Now, on the eve of the battle of Grochow, 
one of the important engagements of the war, my 
father, who in the meanwhile had been promoted to 
the command of the Cuirassier Regiment of Prince 
Albert of Prussia, was asleep in his tent and 
dreamed that he saw an old man, whom he recog- 
nised from the pictures he had seen to be his great- 
grandfather, enter his tent. He noticed that he 
wore the old Pohsh dress, with yellow boots worn 
out at the toes. The ghost, if one may call it by 

15 



MY RECOLLECTIONS 

that name, sat down beside his bed, and told him 
he was his ancestor, and that the vault in which he 
was buried had that very night been broken open 
by the mutineers, and his body taken out of its 
coffin and put against the wall. He added that my 
father was to go to Chelm and to bring it to the 
family grave to be reburied there, and also to erect 
two crosses in memory of the event, one in the 
park, and another in a spot which he carefully in- 
dicated at the turning of the high road leading to 
the house on the family property. He added that 
my father would be wounded the next day. Well, 
that next day the battle took place, and my father 
was shot in the leg. He was ill for a long time, 
and, it must be owned, forgot all about his dream. 
More than ten years later he happened to be at 
Chelm with the Emperor for some manoeuvres, 
and curiosity led him to the church. It had been 
closed ever since the mutiny, but my father insisted 
upon the vault being opened for him, and when he 
entered it he saw his grandfather's body standing 
erect against the wall, in the very dress and the 
same worn-out boots he had seen him in, on the 
night of his dream. He had the body removed and 
buried it on his estate, and the two crosses stand 
to this day as a commemoration of an event 
which, to say the very least, must be called 
singular. 

After the mutiny my father hardly ever left the 
Emperor. He was appointed to be in special at- 
tendance upon him, and this distinction, which was. 
quite apart from that of General Adjutant, which he 

16 



THE EMPRESS EUGENIE 

got later on, has been shared with very few people in 
Russia. When the Sultan Abdul Medjid ascended 
the throne, my father was sent as a special ambas- 
sador to congratulate him on his accession, and at 
the same time was entrusted with the mission of 
going on to Egypt and stopping with a threat of 
Russian intervention Mehemet Ali from continuing 
his march on Constantinople. Later on he took 
part in the Hungarian campaign, and was selected 
to convey to the town of Moscow the news of the 
final victory of the Russian troops. In 1851 he 
went to Spain on a diplomatic mission with a view 
of re-establishing relations between the Russian 
Government and that of Queen Isabella. In the 
correspondence of Count Raczynski, then Prussian 
Minister at the Court of Madrid, with Donoso 
Cortes, which was published a few years ago, 
curious details are given about my father's arrival 
and stay in the Spanish capital. He remained there 
rather longer than he intended at fii*st, and among 
the souvenirs he carried away from this journey 
were a Madonna by Murillo, which was given to 
him by the Queen, and — dearer still — the remem- 
brance of a most lovely girl to whom he entirely 
lost his heart, and who, a few years later, occupied 
the attention of the world when she married the 
Emperor of the French. 

I have often heard my father speak of the 
Empress Eugenie, and the extraordinary impression 
her supreme loveliness produced on all those who 
saw her. He had been very much struck with 
her cleverness as weU as with the brilliancy of her 

17 c 



MY RECOLLECTIONS 

conversation, and used always to maintain that her 
inteUigence equalled, if not surpassed, her beauty. 
When the disaster of Sedan put an end to the 
worldly career of the Countess de Teba, and when 
later on the Prince Imperial fell in Zululand, my 
father was strangely moved, and for some time 
could neither speak nor think of anjrthing else. 
* Poor Empress ! poor Empress ! ' he used to say, 
*how will she bear it?' 

Madame Gerebtsoff died about that time, a few 
months, I think, before my father's mission to 
Madrid, though I am not quite sure about the date. 
She was ill for long weeks, and I have often heard 
my grandmother speak of the devotion with which 
her husband nursed her, adding that it had encou- 
raged her to allow my mother to marry him, in 
spite of the disparity in their ages and the dif- 
ference in their religions. 

I shall speak later on of my mother, and her 
family. My father married her in 1853 ; she was 
one of the loveliest women at the Russian Court, 
and at the Coronation of the Emperor Alexander II. 
was considered the most beautiful one among all 
those who attended it. During her short married 
life the Crimean war took place, and in its early 
stages my father was in command of a division at 
Eupatoria. He was, however, soon recalled and 
appointed Military Governor of St. Petersburg. 
It was whilst he was occupying this position that 
the Emperor Nicholas died ; and with his disaj}- 
pearance my father's career came virtually to an end. 
He was never liked by Alexander II., and did ntot 

18 



ALEXANDER II. 

escape the fate which overtakes all the favourites 
of a reign when it passes away. He was given one 
more command during the second Polish mutiny of 
1863, but very soon after that he retired from active 
service and settled on his estates in the south of 
Russia, where he died on Palm Sunday, the 17th of 
April, 1888. The Emperor Alexander II. had never 
liked him, and never forgiven his independence of 
speech nor a certain reply he had made to him on 
a memorable occasion. It was after the last Polish 
rebellion. Harsh measures were adopted by the 
Government against the landowners of the South 
Provinces who had either taken part in, or sympa- 
thised with the insurrection. A deputation went 
to St. Petersburg to present an address to the 
sovereign, begging for clemency. My father was 
asked to head it, to which he consented. Some 
mischievous person, with the intention of harming 
him, told the Emperor he meant to make a speech. 
At the same time he was himself warned that the 
sovereign did not wish him to do so. The depu- 
tation was introduced into the Imperial presence ; 
my father read the address, after which ensued a 
painful silence, each party waiting for the other to 
speak. At last Alexander II., growing impatient, 
seized my father by the arm, and leading him to 
the window, whence could be seen the golden 
spires of the fortress of St. Peter and St. Paul, 
where at that time political prisoners were confined, 
he exclaimed in a threatening tone, *Rzewuski, 
do you see V ' Yes, your JNIajesty,' was my father's 
cool reply, * the burial-ground of the Czars.' The 

19 



MY RECOLLECTIONS 

Emperor dropped his arm, but it was a long time 
before he would speak to him again. 

I have perhaps Ungered too long over all these 
anecdotes concerning my father, but I would have 
liked to be able to give to my readers a just 
idea of the qualities which made of him such a 
remarkable personality. Very few people are now 
alive who remember him, and I think it a great 
pity that before his death he destroyed the very 
curious memoirs he had written, which certainly 
would have thrown a new light on the reign of the 
Emperor Nicholas. My father was not only clever, 
he was also a chevalier sans peur et sans reproche, 
incapable of a mean act, always brave, always 
ready to defend the weak, to help the distressed. 
His kindness surpassed anything I have ever seen ; 
he was never weary of helping others, and used his 
great position for the good of many who afterwards 
repaid him with the vilest ingratitude. And yet he 
was disliked by many people. His independence, 
the fearlessness with which he used to express his 
opinions, made him dreaded by high and low. He 
did not spare on his side those whom he disliked, 
and the sharpness of his tongue often wounded 
when it was not necessary. He had a marvellous 
self-control and a ready wit, that always took his 
opponents unawares. This, combined with a cer- 
tain haughtiness, which in spite of the extreme 
courtesy that was one of his characteristics, he 
could not quite subdue, helped to make him un- 
popular with a certain class of people. As some 
one once remarked, ' Rzewuski will always shake 

20 



COUNT RZEWUSKI 

hands with you, but then he has got such a d d 

way of making you feel that he is going to wash 
them afterwards.' The words were true, and they 
explain certain animosities which pursued my 
father during his whole life, and even after his 
death. But friends or foes, all those who ever met 
him recognised his immense intelligence, and the 
extraordinary insight he had into politics, as well as 
the great learning which made him one of the most 
remarkable personages of his time. It would be hard 
to meet a man whose conversation was brighter or 
more instructive, whose knowledge was more uni- 
versal, or whose powers of assimilation were greater. 
Everything interested him ; with every person he 
came into contact, no matter how dull he or she 
might be, he found a subject of conversation. He 
was an attractive man, a clever man ; and he was 
also something better than either, he was a good 
man. 



21 



CHAPTER II. 

My Aunts — Madavie LacroiaP Deception — Her Salon — The 
Bibliophile Jacob — M. de St. Amaiul — Madame de Balzac 

— The True Story of the Balzacs — What is Happiness ? 

— The Hotel Balzac — VAbbe Constant — The Commune 
— ' Madame ' and ' Citoyenne.'' 

I HAD four aunts, all of them beautiful, all of 
them clever — one extraordinarily so, and all of 
them women who made their mark in the world. 
One of them was a favourite of the celebrated 
Madame de Krudener, and made society ring with 
the fame of her loveliness at the beginning of last 
century. She was the eldest of her whole family, 
and treated my father as if he were still a little boy. 
She had married three times, buried one husband, 
divorced the second, and led the life of the grandes 
dames of the eighteenth century who loved so well 
and so often. After the Revolution of 1848 she 
settled permanently in Paris, and married a French 
author, M. Jules Lacroix, the brother of the famous 
Bibliophile Jacob. There is an amusing anecdote 
connected with that marriage. At the time it took 
place my aunt was far advanced in the sixties, but 
she had kept her good looks in such an extra- 
ordinary way that one could easily have taken her 
for a woman of forty. At the time she was born, 
registers were kept very slackly in Poland, and 
most of them were destroyed during the civil wars, 

22 



A FRENCH SALON 

My aunt could not produce her birth certificate 
when she was married to M. Lacroix, and had to 
replace it by a declaration as to her age and 
parentage. A few months after her marriage she 
became seriously ill, and her hfe was despaired of. 
They sent for a clergyman, who was going to 
administer the last rites of the Church to her, 
when she called her husband to her bedside, ex- 
claiming, 'Jules, Jules, I cannot die in peace; I 
have deceived you!' My uncle, who it must be 
said, was as much in love with his wife as if she 
had been a girl of eighteen, was horrified, but 
nevertheless entreated her to be calm. But nothing 
would pacify her. ' Jules, Jules,' she went on, ' I 
have deceived you : I am ten years older than I 
told you ! ' One of my cousins, who was present at 
the scene, was wicked enough to burst out laughing 
in spite of the tragical circumstances. 

Madame Caroline Lacroix was one of the nota- 
bilities of Paris ; she had a salon which was as 
celebrated in its way as those of Madame Re- 
camier or Madame Swetchine, and one was sure to 
meet at her house all the remarkable men and all 
the beautiful women, not only of France but of 
Europe. She was a brilliant conversationahst, was 
quite as attractive in the last years of her life as 
during her younger days, and people were as eager 
to hear her talk as they had formerly been anxious 
to feast their eyes upon her beauty. She was pas- 
sionately fond of society, was never happy unless 
she had seen about twenty persons during the day, 
gave dinners which were as admirable from a culi- 

23 



MY RECOLLECTIONS 

nary point of view, as they were pleasant on 
account of the society one met at them. Her 
apartments, No. 22 Rue d'Anjou St. Honore, were 
the rendezvous of hterary people as well as of 
political personages, of journaUsts, and of finan- 
ciers. She was always eager for new acquaintances, 
always desirous of adding to the number of her 
friends. For thirty years she held a most despotic 
sway on a certain circle of Paris society, and when 
she died it was quite an event among those who 
for years had come to her house for news, when 
for nothing else. 

She retained her good looks, as well as all the 
freshness of her mind, until the last. She was the 
type of a grande dame of the eighteenth century, 
always beautifully dressed, with long flowing 
gowns of velvet or satin, wrapped up in old and 
priceless laces, sitting up erect in her chair with a 
figure which might have put to shame many a 
young girl. She had remained in Paris during the 
whole of the siege, and my father once got a letter 
from her which had been sent by a carrier 
pigeon, in which she said that the only thing she 
found hard was to be obliged to eat what she 
characterised as ' horrible things ' {des horreurs). 
She died on the 15th of July, 1885, after an illness 
of three months, during which she struggled with 
death with all the energy of a much younger per- 
son. She had broken her right arm about a year 
before, and in spite of the doctors' predictions that 
she would not be able to use it any more, she 
made a wonderful recovery and could write letters 

24 



MADAME LACROIX 

six weeks after the accident. In one word she was an 
extraordinary old lady, marvellous not only by her 
intelligence, but also by the interest she kept to 
the very last in all the gaieties as well as in all the 
important events of the world. She had also a 
wonderful memory, and used to relate anecdotes 
and describe people who long before had either 
entered into the domain of history, or else been 
forgotten by the world in which they had played a 
prominent part. My aunt had met Alexander I^ 
of Russia, had conversed with the great Napoleon, 
could remember the marriage of Marie Louise and 
the birth of the King of Rome, had been present 
at the Opera the night that the Duke of Berri was 
assassinated, later on had watched Louis Philippe 
escape from the Tuileries, and had witnessed 
the entry of the Empress Eugenie at Notre Dame, 
on the day which saw the Imperial Crown of 
France put on her head. She had been in 
correspondence with Mazzini, had entertained 
Madame de Castiglione, and reckoned among her 
friends the Princess Lieven as well as the Duke of 
Morny. I don't think there was one person in 
Europe worth knowing that she did not know, one 
celebrity that had not sat at her hospitable board* 
When she died she was far advanced in the nine- 
ties, and she was a living encyclopaedia of all the 
famous or clever men and women of her century. 

Among the people whom one used to meet 
constantly at her house was her brother-in-law, 
the bibliophile Jacob, that amiable old man who 
was such a well-known member of Paris society* 

25 



MY RECOLLECTIONS 

He was the librarian at the Arsenal, and used to 
live in the old house of Sully, buried among his 
books, and always ready to show them to the 
curious visitor. One of the most brilliant talkers 
of his time, it was a delight to listen to him, and 
to hear him discuss one thing or another. After 
the war, however, he retired from society. He 
was an ardent Bonapartist, and at a time when 
every one was more or less turning their backs upon 
the unfortunate Emperor and his family, he re- 
mained true to them, and never left off proclaiming 
his allegiance to their cause. Personally, I am 
indebted to the bibliophile for the first encourage- 
ment I ever got to try my hand at literary work. 
Another Bonapartist who often dined at my aunt's, 
was the charming Baron de St. Amand, whose 
death a few years ago was a great source of regret 
to his numerous friends. M. de St. Amand was 
amiabihty itself, and if slightly superficial in his 
talk, he never left off being delightful. He had col- 
lected a number of anecdotes, and was never weary 
of relating them. I think that, with the Countess 
Xavier de Blacas, he was the last survivor of the 
group of people whom one used to meet almost 
daily at my aunt's. I have often talked with him 
about her since her death, and we always agreed in 
the opinion that the present generation has no 
great ladies of the type which she represented so 
well, and with such dignity. 

Very different from my aunt Caroline was her 
sister, Madame de Balzac, the widow of the cele- 
brated novehst, whose influence on French htera- 

26 



MADAME DE BALZAC 

ture is still so powerful. The correspondence 
which has been published has made her a famiUar 
figure to the pubhc, but though it has revealed to 
the world the passion which one of the greatest 
men who have ever left their impress on the 
literary tendencies of their country, as well as of 
their century, had for her during long years, I 
doubt whether it has given any real knowledge as 
to her moral worth to those who have not had the 
privilege of meeting her. She has gone down to 
posterity as the woman whom Balzac loved, whilst 
she deserved to have been known as the one 
being to whom he was indebted for the develop- 
ment of his marvellous genius, and also as his 
collaborator in many of his works. For instance, 
the novel called Modeste Mignon is almost entirely 
written by her pen, and certainly some of her 
illustrious husband's best books have had some- 
thing or other added to them by her hand. When 
Balzac wrote to Madame Hanska, as she was at 
that time called, the famous letter in which he 
used those remarkable words, which are the best 
description of love that has been ever given : * With 
you moral satiety does not exist ; what I tell you 
now is a great thing — it is the secret of happiness,' 
he only expressed in eloquent terms what every 
one who knew my aunt felt from the very first, and 
that was the fact that they stood in the presence of 
quite an exceptional being. Madame de Balzac was 
perhaps not so brilUant in conversation as were 
her brothers and sisters. Her mind had some- 
thing pedantic about it, and she was rather a good 

27 



MY RECOLLECTIONS 

listener than a good talker, but whatever she said 
was to the point, and she was eloquent with her 
pen. Among the innumerable letters from her 
which I possess, either addressed to myself or my 
mother, there is not one which would not deserve 
to be printed. Political appreciations written at 
the time of the Crimean war, are almost prophetic 
in their utterances. She had that large glance only 
given to superior minds which allows them, accor- 
ding to the words of Catherine of Russia, ' to read 
the future in the history of the past.' She observed 
everything, was indulgent to every one. She had 
learned the truth of the old axiom, ' One must 
understand all, in order to forgive all.' My aunt 
had forgiven, and learned the hard lesson of life 
without being in the least embittered by it. Her 
large and lofty mind had risen above the vice, fret, 
and wretchedness of earth, until it had reached 
those higher regions of peace where one rests in 
the supreme indifference to the judgments of society, 
which a clear conscience alone can give. 

Her marriage with Balzac had so much of 
romance in it, that I feel tempted to relate it, if 
only to correct the many untruths that have been 
written about it. My aunt, who had been married 
whilst a mere child to a man much older than 
herself, but possessed of immense wealth, lived a 
very retired life in the country, and hardly ever 
left Russia. Almost isolated, thrown on the com- 
panionship of a man certainly inferior to her in 
every way in spite of his soHd qualities, she sought 
refuge in study and reading, in order to forget the 

28 



MADAME DE HANSKA 

secret disappointments she did not care to own. 
She had all kinds of books sent to her, and one 
day she received one of Balzac's first novels ; I 
don't remember now which of them it was. She 
was so impressed with it, that she wrote to the 
author enclosing a criticism of the work, and sent 
it on to his pubhsher. Balzac was so struck in his 
turn with her letter that he replied to her, and 
from that day they corresponded without having 
ever met for several years. At last they met 
at Geneva, and the admiration which the noveUst 
had conceived for Madame Hanska's intellect was 
extended to her person. He went to see her 
at her Russian home, and spent months in that 
distant place. The house passed later on into 
my father's hands, who bought it from his niece the 
Countess Mniszech, to whom it had reverted after 
M. Hanska's death. The rooms which Balzac occu- 
pied are still left in the same condition they were 
in when the novelist used to occupy them. His 
portrait painted by Boulanger, of which mention is 
so often made in his correspondence, is hanging on 
the wall, the last memento of one of the great love 
romances of the world. I have often stood and 
gazed at it, and wondered at the incidents of this 
romance, but my aunt never liked to hear the 
subject mentioned, though she was passionately 
devoted to the memory of her illustrious husband. 

When Madame Hanska became a widow it 
seemed as if nothing could prevent her from marry- 
ing Balzac, but, as is usual in such cases, other 
people interfered. Her family did not wish her 

29 



MY RECOLLECTIONS 

to ally herself to a personage who, according to their 
aristocratic prejudices, was nothing but a French 
novel-writer. Pecuniary considerations were put 
forward, and people began attributing sordid mo- 
tives to Balzac. The struggle lasted for a few 
years, and then my aunt put an end to it by 
giving up all the great fortune, of which she had 
the disposal under her husband's will, to her 
daughter, who in the meantime had married Count 
George Mniszech. After this sacrifice she was 
united to the man of her choice, and thus ended 
*this beautiful heart drama,' to use Balzac's own 
words, ' which had lasted seventeen years.' Six 
months later he died, and my aunt found herself 
for the second time a widow, with the burden of 
her husband's large debts and that of his great 
name which she bore with such dignity for thirty 
years longer. She never spoke of the blow his 
death had been to her. She must have felt it 
deeply, and she would not have been human if 
she had not cherished resentment against those 
whose opposition to her wishes had robbed her 
of some years of happiness ; but if this was the case 
she never let any one guess it. Once only I heard 
her make a remark which gave me a strange in- 
sight into her inner life. We were talking about 
happiness in general, and I observed how very 
eager people were to interfere with that of their 
neighbours. My aunt looked at me for some time, 
then slowly said : ' I think that this comes from 
the fact that so very few people understand what 
real happiness is; they mostly look upon it as: 

30 



A COUNSEL OF PERFECTION 

a superficial thing, and treat it with that hght- 
heartedness they apply to all the other enjoyments 
of existence. If they understood and realised what 
it really means to those who consider life in its 
true and serious light, they would respect it more. 
If I had my way I would bring children up to 
respect happiness just as one brings them up to 
respect religion. I would teach them that it must 
be reverenced as we do all rehgions, even those we 
do not belong to.' 

I have often echoed my aunt's remark, and 
thought how much better humanity would be if 
it were educated according to the principle she 
had laid down on that day. 

Madame de Balzac never left Paris after her 
husband's death, except to spend the summer at 
a property she had near Villeneuve St. George, 
called Beauregard. She had become very infirm 
and immensely stout. All traces of the beauty 
for which she had been renowned in her youth 
had disappeared, but the incomparable charm, 
which had fascinated the author of the Comedie 
Hwnaine, never left her. Her family, who stood 
more or less in awe of her, treated her with great 
respect and consideration. Her house was a 
meeting-place where all events relating to the 
welfare of her kindred were discussed. We all 
of us had a great opinion of the soundness of 
her judgments, and liked to consult her in any 
of our difficulties or embarrassments. She was 
always indulgent, even v>hen severe, and Aunt 
Evelyn, as we used to call her, was our refuge 

31 



MY RECOLLECTIONS 

in many a sad hour, and a comforter in many a 
struggle when heart and duty were divided. We 
felt instinctively that she had sacrificed so much 
to what she considered to have been her duty, 
that she was the best person to point out where 
it really lay to those who were hesitating as to the 
path they ought to enter upon. My father, who 
was absolutely devoted to his sister, never failed to 
consult her whenever he was in doubt as to what 
he ought to do ; but strange to say he was not, 
in spite of this feeling, in sympathy with her mind 
or her intellect. My aunt was very sceptical in 
matters of religion, and absolutely refused to bow 
before what she called superstitions. She had been 
very much under the influence of her own father, 
who was imbued with the Voltairean ideas which 
had taken hold, more or less, of every deep-think- 
ing person at the end of the eighteenth century; 
she refused to accept the theory of a hell and of 
an eternal punishment for sin. She was very much 
against the influence of the clergy in private life, 
and always deplored the abuse which was made of 
religion in relations and events with which it 
ought never to have had anything to do. I be- 
lieve she thought on this subject more strongly 
even than she would admit in public, for she 
was always very chary of hurting the feelings 
of her neighbour. 

She never left the little house Balzac had 
built and arranged for her when they married. 
It was No. 22 Rue Balzac, on the spot where 
the pavilion of the financier Beaujon formerly 

32 I 



BALZAC'S HOME 

stood, and where may now be seen the sumptuous 
mansion and gardens of Baroness James de Roths- 
child. Except a marble slab on the wall, which 
records that on that spot the house in which died 
the author of the Comedie Humaine once stood, 
nothing remains to remind one of the two people 
whose love had filled the walls now pulled down 
and destroyed. I always avoid the street when I 
am in Paris. It is too painful to cross it and not 
to find the familiar landmarks, not to ring at the 
porte cochere which opened on the little courtyard 
whence one entered the house. It was a tiny 
habitation, full to overflowing with costly works 
of art, pictures, and old china. The long drawing- 
room with its three windows had a big fireplace, 
opposite which stood on a table the colossal bust 
of Balzac, by David d'Angers. My aunt used to 
sit between it and the fireplace at the middle win- 
dow of the room, near a little table on which her 
books and knitting were laid. In this room, and 
near that table, all that was illustrious in French 
literature has congregated, and from the large arm- 
chair, in which she sat esconced, some of the most 
trenchant criticisms on modern opinions, and the 
events which have made our society what it is now, 
have been delivered. Madame de Balzac, though 
living absolutely retired from the world, never lost 
her influence over those who played a part in that 
world's drama or comedy. 

She never, or hardly ever, entertained. Her 
daughter used at one time to go out a good deal 
in Parisian society, but the doors of the Hotel 

33 D 



MY RECOLLECTIONS 

Balzac, as it was called, were never opened in the 
evening save to a few old and tried friends who, 
on certain days of the week, used to come and 
dine with its mistress, and her daughter and son- 
in-law who lived with her. The painter Jean 
Gigoux was one of them, and remained my aunt's 
closest friend up to her death. Another personage 
who used to put in a regular appearance on Wed- 
nesdays, always impressed my young imagination 
by the legend which surrounded his name. It 
was the famous Abbe Constant, known in Paris 
as Eliphas Levy, a priest who had left holy orders, 
and whose life was devoted to the study of occult 
sciences, on which he had written many curious 
books, now forgotten, except by those who take 
an interest in such things. LAbbe Constant, a 
venerable figure with a flowing white beard, and 
long hah', was supposed to be gifted with the talent 
of prophesying, and though he absolutely refused 
to exercise his knowledge in our behalf, my cousins 
and myself were always trying to induce him to 
tell us our future. We never succeeded, except 
on one occasion, when the result proved to be too 
uncanny to be pleasant. One of the circumstances 
which had given great prominence to the science 
of fortune-telling which Eliphas Levy was sup- 
posed to possess, was the fact that a few days 
before the Archbishop of Paris, Mgr. Sibour, was 
assassinated, a young man came to consult him 
on some business or other. The old philosopher 
told him to take care as he was on the point of 
committing a great crime. The young man, who 

34 



THE ABBE CONSTANT 

was none other but Verger, the murderer of the 
Archbishop, was so struck by this extraordinary- 
guess, that after he was arrested he exclaimed he 
was sorry not to have listened to the Abbe Con- 
stant. This made a great stir at the time, the 
more so that Eliphas Levy, being an unfrocked 
priest, was naturally an object of suspicion, and 
I believe he was subjected to great annoyance 
in consequence of his warning to the youthful 
assassin. Whether this had anything or not to do 
with his subsequent reluctance to use his supposed 
knowledge of the future, I cannot say, but it is 
certain he did not care to be reminded of it. 

My aunt was very fond of the Abbe Constant. 
Their rehgious opinions were, I believe, identical, 
and their minds were much aUke in the firm 
grasp they had of the grave problems which have 
in turn shaken humanity, and brought it from 
belief to incredulity, and from false knowledge 
to true science. They both possessed that grave 
indulgence which is only attained in old age, and 
which can afford to smile on the self- content and 
arrogance which is so inseparable from youth. Nei- 
ther of them ever tried to impose their opinions 
upon others, or to convert the younger generation 
to their ideas. They knew that ideas as well as 
opinions change according as to how the lesson of life 
is learned, and that the young man who declares he 
will never alter, is not to be blamed but to be 
pitied for the inexperience which makes him think 
his judgment can never be modified by circum- 
stances. They were both very reserved in the 

35 



MY RECOLLECTIONS 

presence of strangers, and both nervously afraid 
of inflicting pain on any living creature. I have 
often wondered in later years whether this dread 
was due to the amount of suffering which had 
been dealt out to them by others. 

During the Franco - German war and the 
horrors of the Commune my aunt remained in 
Paris. She was very infirm, and could hardly leave 
her armchair, but never thought for one moment 
of seeking safety in flight. Her property of 
Beauregard was occupied by the German troops, 
who considerably damaged it. A good many of 
her manuscripts were either stolen or burned, and 
a marble bust of herself, the work of the Italian 
sculptor Bartolini, had its nose broken. In spite 
of our urgent request to allow the damage to be 
repaired, my aunt absolutely refused to do so. 
She was an ardent French patriot and liked to 
nurse the memory of her country's wrongs. 
The bibliophile Jacob, who was not devoid of a 
certain tinge of malice, declared that it was not 
so much the Prussians she hated as the Emperor 
Napoleon III., whom she accused of all the mis- 
fortunes which had followed upon the war, and 
whose share in it she wished to be reminded of by 
the sight of her noseless image. It was true that my 
aunt was an ardent republican, with a strong 
tendency to socialism, but this did not prevent 
her from stigmatising, as they deserved, the ex- 
cesses of the Commune. And this brings me to 
another passage in her life, which it may perhaps 
amuse the public to hear. 

36 



INCIDENT DURING THE COMMUNE 

During the last dreadful days of the struggle 
of 1871, the Hotel Balzac was invaded by a de- 
tachment of insurgents. My aunt happened to 
be alone in her house when they burst into it. 
The leader of the band entered the room in which 
she sat, with his cap on his head, and began ad- 
dressing her as 'Citoyenne.' Madame de Balzac 
without showing the least discomposure, pointing 
with her finger to the head-dress of her inter- 
locutor, ' Take off your hat,' she said, ' I am not 
used to people talking to me with their heads 
covered ; and call me Madame, I am too old to 
be addressed as Citoyenne.' The man was so 
surprised that he hastened to obey her, and after 
many excuses left the house with his companions. 
My father was very fond of chaffing his sister 
on the incident, and to ask her what she would 
have done had the Communard proved refractory ; 
* I would have pulled off his cap myself,' she used 
to reply, ' I was not going to let that ruffian be 
rude to me !' upon which my father retorted by 
saying that she was not consistent in her radical 
opinions, and that she ought to have welcomed 
with open arms the representative of that demo- 
cracy to which she professed to belong. The result 
was invariably a quarrel. 

I have Ungered more than I ought to have 
done on the character of my aunt, but she 
has exercised such a great influence on my own 
opinions and Ufe that I feel I cannot dismiss her 
lightly, or in a few words. I owe to her all the 
good that is in me; I certainly am indebted to 

37 



MY RECOLLECTIONS 

her for any power of resistance I may possess. 
But for her lessons and example it is probable 
I would have been a different being from the one 
I have become, and though I might perhaps have 
been a better, I certainly should have been a weaker 
one. She taught me that though circumstances 
may break a human creature, they ought to be 
unable to make her bend under them, when any 
vital principle is at stake. 



CHAPTER III. 

My Mother's Fatmly — The PascKkoffs — Reminiscence of the 
Polish Mutiny — Attempt on the Czar's Life — Character 
of Alexander II. — The Beautiful Princess Dagmar — 
Franco - Prussian War — The Surrender of Sedan — In 
Paris after the Commune — / am Engaged to he Married 
— My Presentation at Court — My Wedding. 

My mother was the daughter of M. Dmitri 
DaschkofF, Secretary of State for Justice in the 
early years of the Emperor Nicholas I.'s reign. 
The Daschkoffs, who are quite a different family 
irom the one to which the Princess DaschkofF, so 
well known in history as the friend and favourite 
of the Empress Catherine, belonged, are of 
Tartar origin, and bear as such the crescent in 
their coat-of-arms. A DaschkofF was sent as 
Ambassador to the Sublime Porte during the reign 
of Peter the Great. My grandfather, who died 
when my mother was quite a little girl, left 
the reputation of having been a great statesman. 
He worked at the reform of the penal code, and 
was credited with liberal opinions, which, at the 
time he was living, was considered more or less as 
Si singularity. He was very much respected, and, 
if we are to judge from his correspondence, must 
have been a remarkable man. He died at a com- 
paratively early age, leaving a young widow and 
three small children. My grandmother never 

39 



MY RECOLLECTIONS 

married again, and gave up the world absolutely^ 
after her husband's death. She was by birth a 
Mademoiselle PaschkofF, of Moscow. The Pasch- 
koffs were a very wealthy family of merchant 
origin, who, through their immense riches, secured 
for their daughters alliances with the noblest blood, 
in Russia. My grandmother had two brothers 
and two sisters. One of the latter married Prince 
WassiltchikofF, and for many years was a foremost 
personage in Russian society. She was a for- 
midable old lady, dreaded by the younger gene- 
ration, who kept her numerous nephews and 
nieces in salutary awe of her. She had a sharp- 
tongue, and administered rebuJfFs, when she thought 
they were deserved, with a severity which was 
almost merciless. Her two sons played an im- 
portant part in the reform movement which 
signalled the first years of the Emperor Alex- 
ander II.'s reign. The eldest one, Alexander by- 
name, was also one of the leaders of the Panslavist 
movement, and exercised by his writings, as well 
as by his opinions, a wide influence over a certain, 
section of St. Petersburg society. He, too, died 
relatively young, leaving one son and two dauga- 
ters, the youngest of whom was married to Count 
StrogonofF, and died at twenty years old in the full 
radiance of a marvellous beauty. 

My grandmother's youngest sister became the 
wife of Count LewachofF, and both her brothers 
left several children, one of them being the father of 
that Basil Paschkofl^, who, owing to his adoption 
of the doctrines of T^ord Radstock, got himself 

40 



M. DE BLOWITZ 

exiled from Russia, and lived for many years ii> 
England. 

Of cousins, nephews, nieces, my grandmother 
had a great number. There is scarcely a family 
in Russia which is not allied in one way or 
another with the PaschkofFs. The celebrated 
General SkobelefF was one of those who through 
my grandmother was a cousin of mine ; and this 
reminds me of a most ridiculous article contributed 
by the late M. de Blowitz to the Matin about me 
in which he gives a most fantastical account of the 
marriage of SkobelefF's mother. I have often 
wondered where he got his information, which is 
devoid of one single word of truth, for certainly 
Mr. PoltawtsofF was not the son of a serf, and 
the PaschkofFs were never landowners in the 
Government of Poltawa. My grandmother lived 
to a very advanced age. She was a real saint, and 
when she died in the small town of Riazan, the 
whole population of it followed her to her grave, 
and all the poor of the place subscribed for a 
wreath to be upon her coffin, with an inscrip- 
tion, which we afterwards had inscribed on her 
tombstone. It ran thus : ' Receive her, O Lord, 
as she received all the poor and unfortunate.' My 
grandmother had never got over the shock of her 
only daughter's death, but she went on living for 
duty's sake, and tried to forget her own grief 
in soothing the sorrows of others. I have never 
met a more unselfish person. I loved her more, 
perhaps, than she knew, for she was of a stern 
disposition, and not given to effusion, and I 

41 



MY RECOLLECTIONS 

Avas always more or less afraid of her, but even 
now, after so many years have passed, and so 
many sorrows have overtaken me, her death re- 
mains a distinct, sharp, and inconsolable grief, 
amongst all others. 1 never feel my loneliness 
more than when I think of her. 

My mother was twenty-three years old when 
she married my father at Stuttgard, in the private 
chapel of Queen Olga of Wurtemberg. She was 
radiantly beautiful, and, like all those whom the gods 
love, she was carried off young, dying in the full 
splendour of her youth and of her happiness, five 
days after my birth. She had passionately longed 
for a child during the short years of her married 
life, and when that child was at last given to her, 
she had to go away there where pain and sorrow 
are no more, and to leave it to face the world 
alone. She passed away in full consciousness of 
her approaching end, with a resignation which can 
be called heroic, thanking her husband for the 
years of happiness he had given to her, and re- 
conciled to the will of the Almighty. 

My father married again two years after my 
mother's death, and this created a breach between 
him and my grandmother. It was then that my 
aunt, Madame de Balzac, interfered, and began 
to take the gi-eat interest in my education which 
she always manifested. She was almost the only 
person who used to speak to me about my 
mother, and to relate to me anecdotes concerning 
her. I avoided the subject with my father, and 
my grandmother was always silent as to her 

42 



POLAND IN 1863 

own sorrows. My aunt was, therefore, the only 
being with whom I could talk of the beautiful 
young creature who had died in giving me birth. 

One of the first remembrances of my childhood 
belongs to the Polish Mutiny of 1863. My father 
was in command of an army corps on the Austrian 
frontier, and was stationed in a small town called 
Oustiloug. I don't know to this day why he had 
his wife and children with him. It was scarcely a 
spot for ladies and babies to be in, and we were all 
huddled up together in a horrible Uttle Jewish 
house, where there was scarcely place to turn in. 
My little brother died there of convulsions, and as 
there was no room for me and my nurse in the 
house, we spent a night or two in a tent which had 
been hastily erected on the lawn. I can see it 
well, even now, and the astonishment with which 
I watched the Cossacks who guarded the place 
saddle and exercise their horses every morning. 
It was then I made my first acquaintance with 
death, and I remember my surprise when I was 
taken to see my little brother, and could not under- 
stand why he was so white and still, and would not 
look at the flowers I had gathered for him in the 
fields that same morning. Another fact connected 
with that event is also impressed upon my mind. 
The day of the funeral of that small boy (he was 
two years old) happened to be the one following 
upon a skirmish between the Russian troops and 
the insurgents. As the body was being carried to 
the church, borne, according to custom, on the 
shoulders of my father and his staff, we met a 

43 



MY RECOLLECTIONS 

party of Cossacks escorting some prisoners. They 
stopped when they saw the procession, and one of 
the captives recognising my father, who was known 
to them all, turned round and began cursing him, 
saying that his child's death was a punishment of 
God for his having gone over to the enemy, and 
drawn his sword in favour of the Russian Czar. 
One of the Cossacks of the escort, indignant at 
this piece of brutality, lifted his whip and was 
going to strike the man on the mouth, when my 
father raised his voice, and in a sharp, ringing tone 
ordered him to desist. The Pole was suddenly 
cowed, and with a brusque movement took off 
his cap that he had up to that time kept on his 
head. My father turned round, and after gravely 
saluting with his sword the long Une of prisoners,, 
gave the order for the procession to resume its. 
march. 

This incident forms one of the clearest remem- 
brances of my baby days. I was but five years old 
when it occurred, but I have never been able to 
forget it. I have often wondered at my father's 
self-control on this painful occasion ; I wondered 
still more when I learned many and many years 
later, that he had done his utmost to get the man 
who had so grossly insulted him at a moment 
when he could not retahate, released from the 
sentence of exile which was inflicted upon him. 

This time of the Mutiny must have been a 
most interesting one. It was followed by a period 
of repression, the traces of which are not yet effaced. 
Alexander II. had neither the generosity nor the 

44 



ALEXANDER II. AND POLAND 

fearlessness of his father; he never forgave his 
PoHsh subjects their revolt, and allowed the insur- 
rection to be ruthlessly suppressed. In 1831 they 
hung a few people, sent a few others to Siberia, but 
no laws of exception were ever promulgated ; no 
children were ever punished for their father's sins. 
In 1863 things were very different, and the famous 
reply of the Emperor to the address which was 
presented to him at Warsaw, 'Messieurs, pas de 
reveries,' is still remembered there. Personally, I 
have no sympathy with the Polish cause; I am 
afraid that the Tartar blood which is in me has 
got the upper hand of the Polish one : or rather 
that the independence which has always been one 
of the characteristics of the inhabitants of Little 
Russia, from whence my father's family originates, 
constitutes an impassable barrier between myself 
and Polish aspirations. I cannot understand them, 
and the way in which religion is used by them for 
the furtherance of their political animosities is pro- 
foundly repugnant to me. I do not understand God 
being invoked in order to spread one's hatreds and 
revengeful feelings. I am essentially a Russian in 
opinions, ideas, affections ; I love my country with 
a passionate devotion, and would not belong to any 
other. 

After the rebellion was suppressed, my father 
returned to St. Petersburg, and beyond a few 
trifling incidents I do not remember much of the 
next two or three years. We made several journeys 
to Paris to see my aunts, and tremendous under- 
takings they were at a time when the railway only 

45 



MY RECOLLECTIONS 

extended as far as the German frontier, and when 
the journey there had to be performed in a travel- 
ling carriage, which in appearance resembled nothing 
so much as a Noah's ark. Neither did railways 
exist from St. Petersburg to KjefF, in the neigh- 
bourhood of which town my father's estates were 
situated. There was a public road more or less well 
kept, and upon which the mails used to be carried, 
and it was a great source of amusement to me 
when we met a little cart which bore the magic 
words, ' His Majesty's Post,' and which was, by 
reason of this appellation, given the preference in 
the matter of horses. But I do not think I 
have anything to relate about those years, except 
one incident which, by reason of the influence it 
exercised over the future of my country, deserves 
to be specially mentioned. 

It was in St. Petersburg, one April afternoon. 
We had just finished dinner, my father keeping to 
the old custom of having that meal at three o'clock, 
when one of his friends, Admiral Count Heyden, 
was announced. He took my father aside, and 
they had a long conversation in one corner of the 
room, whilst my stepmother looked on with evident 
surprise, forgetting in her agitation to send me 
back to my nursery. I could see my father was 
strangely moved; at last he asked the Count to 
wait, and went out of the room, returning in a few 
minutes dressed in full uniform. They drove away 
together, and then my stepmother called my gover- 
ness, and they had a hurried conversation, after 
which she put on her walking things and went out 

46 



A DASTARDLY CRIME 

too. The news brought by Admiral Heyden was 
that of the attempted assassination of the Emperor 
by a student called KarakazofF as he was taking his 
usual afternoon walk with his daughter, the now 
Dowager Duchess of Coburg, in what is called the 
Summer Garden, in St. Petersburg. 

A chapel now stands at the spot where the 
dastardly attempt was made, and reminds the 
public that the long series of crimes of which it 
was the first, began with that pistol-shot. Up to 
that moment no one in Russia had even admitted 
the possibility that the sovereign whose name 
will for ever remain associated with that great 
reform of the emancipation of the serfs, could 
become the object of an attack of the kind. Kara- 
kazofTs deed rudely dissipated these illusions, and 
the discoveries which followed upon his abominable 
deed shook Russian society to its very depths. 
Emperors had been murdered before, but the con- 
spiracies against them had always had their origin 
in, and been confined to, the ranks of the upper 
classes. A popular manifestation of discontent 
had never been even dreamt of, and no one had 
thought for a moment that what are called in 
Europe the middle classes, could become imbued 
with revolutionary ideas or opinions, and aspire 
to play a part in the government of the State. 
The conspiracy of the 14th of December, 1825, 
which nearly cost Nicholas I. his throne as well 
as his life, had been entirely the work of some 
disappointed noblemen. The nation as a whole 
had had nothing to do with it. The movement 

47 



MY RECOLLECTIONS 

was headed by a Mourawieff Apostol, a Prince 
Wolkhonski, and a member of the illustrious 
house of Troubetskoi. It had not rallied to itself 
any one belonging to another sphere of society 
than that of the upper ten. KarakazofFs attempt, 
on the contrary, was an immense revolt of hitherto 
untried forces of the nation, against an authority 
which refused to acknowledge their existence, and 
which challenged their right to share it with them. 
It was the real beginning, not so much of nihilism, 
as of anarchism ; and as such it must neither be 
looked upon as an isolated instance of political 
fanaticism, nor as the act of a madman. The 
unfortunate young man who had been led into 
it, was but the precursor of that other fanatic 
whose shell destroyed the sovereign his bullet had 
missed. 

The emotion produced by KarakazofFs attempt 
was immense ; it shook the whole nation as I have 
already said, but it did so in a very different sense 
than the authorities imagined at first. It familiar- 
ised the masses with the idea of regicide, and it 
stimulated the thinking classes of society — the 
holders of liberal opinions which had been smoulder- 
ing for so long, but had never dared to express 
themselves openly. 

We were at that time in the great period 
of reforms which perhaps failed because they 
were entered upon too hastily, and without suffi- 
cient preparation. It was a kind of revolution 
Alexander II. had accomplished by a stroke of the 
pen equal to the one Peter the Great had had the 

48 



THE EMPEROR'S CHARACTER 

strength to carry through. The Emperor had 
neither the energy, nor sufficient poUtical per- 
spicacity to understand that an attempt of the 
importance of the one he was undertaking required 
time, patience, and was bound to be accompanied 
by a few disappointments. He was a curious 
mixture of autocracy and HberaHsm. Brought 
up with immense care, he had become imbued 
with what were called in Russia at the time Occi- 
dental ideas, but at heart he was more authorita- 
tive than his father had ever been. Nicholas also had 
thought of the best way in which the independence 
of the serfs could be accomplished, but he had 
understood that a reform of that magnitude could 
not be rushed ; also perhaps that his son not being 
bound, as he was, with certain traditions, could put 
his hand to it more easily than would have been 
possible for himself. But the question had been 
closely studied, and my father had in his possession 
several memoirs which had been submitted to the 
Emperor on that subject, of which he had kept 
copies. Had the unfortunate Crimean war not 
interfered, it is probable the matter would have 
been discussed openly. External complications 
caused it to be put aside, until the new sovereign 
took it up almost immediately upon his accession 
to the throne. 

The very mention that such a thing was in 
contemplation created an amount of enthusiasm 
such as Russia had never known before. Even 
the revolutionary party which had its headquarters 
at Geneva publicly declared its intention of laying 

49 E 



MY RECOLLECTIONS 

down arms until the result of the young Emperor's 
venture was known. The excitable Russian masses 
became quite frantic, and they lived in expectation 
of a new millennium setting in, as well as of its 
taking place immediately. They thought that the 
individual ideas they had assimilated could at once 
be understood by the bulk of the nation. A wave 
of excitement shook every man and woman, in the 
highest as well as in the lowest classes. People 
enrolled themselves among the ranks of the new 
set of officials, whom the reforms had suddenly 
called into existence. Young guardsmen, whose 
only conception of life to that day had been the 
enjoyment of the various gaieties of St. Petersburg, 
declared themselves willing to give them all up, 
in order to serve upon the Zemstwos or new local 
councils, for the administration of the different 
provinces. The introduction of the jury was 
supposed to give every one the certainty of a fair 
trial. The sovereign became a kind of half-god, 
rnd was deceived into believing that the popu- 
larity which he appeared to have attained would 
be a lasting one. 

Alas ! for all these hopes ! Russians belong to 
the class of people who cannot wait. When years 
went on and the reforms so enthusiastically an- 
nounced dragged themselves out, without bringing 
any perceptible change in the existing condition 
of things, people began to grumble. To the latent 
discontent which had existed for years, and sad- 
dened the end of the reign of Nicholas I., succeeded 
an open revolt. The Emperor was accused of 

50 



A FATAL MISTAKE 

having promised what he had no intention of 
granting, and those of his immediate entourage 
who had always opposed the liberal ideas to which 
he clung so firmly, made use of the disappoint- 
ment he was not clever enough to conceal, to try 
and make him go back on the road he had entered 
upon. 

This was the most fatal mistake he could have 
made, for if it is possible under certain conditions 
to withhold from a nation liberties it has never 
known, it is fatal to attempt to deprive it of those 
which have been already granted to it. Persever- 
ance does not figure among Russian national 
qualities, and as soon as the first reforms of 
Alexander II. failed to allay the evils for which 
they were supposed to have been a remedy, they 
were pronounced by one section of society to be 
insufficient, whilst the other declared them to be 
too wide. Between the two parties by which he 
was surrounded, neither of which were possessed 
of sound judgment, the Emperor, whose character 
was already too much inclined towards hesita- 
tion, began to enter upon the path of vacilla- 
tion, which at last ended by making him a 
ruler far more autocratic than his father had ever 
been. 

What I say now is of course founded on 
hearsay, as I was almost a baby in arms, when 
Russia was started upon the path which now she is 
bound to follow, no matter where it may lead her to. 
The subject, however, has got nothing to do with 
my personal recollections, and I have only touched 

61 



MY RECOLLECTIONS 

upon it in connection with the KarakazofF incident 
and its subsequent consequences. 

In relating the way in which the news of this 
attempt were brought to my father, I mentioned 
Admiral Heyden. I must say now a word about 
this venerable member of St. Petersburg society, 
who until his death, two years ago, was its most 
prominent figure by reason of all the historical re- 
membrances which were associated with his name. 

He was the last survivor of the battle of 
Navarino, and the last survivor of the household 
of the Emperor Nicholas I. When he died he had 
reached his ninety-seventh or ninety-eighth year, and 
was up to that day in full possession of his faculties. 
He had been one of my father's closest friends, and 
many a kindness did he show to my brother and 
myself. His own brother was for many years 
Governor-General of Finland, where he made him- 
self universally liked and esteemed, and whence 
his departure was accompanied by the keenest 
regrets. 

The two next events which left an impression 
on my childish mind were the Austrian war and 
the news of the battle of Sadowa, over which my 
father got very much excited. He had all along 
prophesied the defeat of the Austrian troops, but 
nevertheless did not expect any more than anybody 
else the crushing reverses which attended the army 
commanded by General Benedek. He did not 
care from a political point of view for the aggran- 
disement of Prussia, and feared it would in the long 
run bring nothing good for our own country. 

52 



THE PRINCESS DAGMAR 

Little did I suspect in those days, when my in- 
quisitive little ears were eagerly strained to listen 
to all the news I could hear, that I was destined to 
be brought into close contact with the personages 
whose actions were discussed with such interest by 
my father and his friends. 

In the autumn of that same year, 1866, the heir 
to our throne was married with great pomp in St. 
Petersburg to the Princess Dagmar of Denmark. 
I was taken to see the triumphal entry of the 
young bride in St. Petersburg ; it was the first time 
I had witnessed a pageant of the kind, and for 
days and nights I kept thinking about it, and could 
not sleep for excitement. Rarely has a foreign 
Princess been greeted with such enthusiasm as the 
new Grand Duchess, who from the first moment 
she set foot on the Russian soil, succeeded in 
winning to herself all hearts. Her smile, the 
delightful way she had of bowing to the crowds 
assembled to welcome her, laid immediately the 
foundations of that popularity which, instead of 
waning as is often the case, grew day by day, and 
increased continually as the years went on. The 
Empress Marie Feodorowna is at present the most 
popular woman in Russia, and she has made for 
herself such a name for goodness, kindness, and 
the most noble qualities of heart and mind, that 
even among those who have never seen her, she is 
absolutely worshipped. 

In 1867 I was taken to see the Paris Exhibition, 
but with the exception of a Mexican temple whose 
different colours somehow impressed me, I do not 

53 



MY RECOLLECTIONS 

remember much about it. The monuments of 
Paris interested me more than did the world's 
great fair. The Conciergerie in particular, where 
I was taken by my father, made me burst into a 
flood of tears, as we were shown the dungeon 
where poor Marie Antoinette had been confined, 
and the courtyard from whence so many unfortu- 
nate victims, among whom my own aunt had 
been included, were dragged to the scaffold. 

It was after his journey to Paris that my father 
definitely gave up his St. Petersburg house and 
settled in the country, whence he only returned to 
the capital at the time of the Russo-Turkish war, 
when he again took a flat in town, where he resided 
during two or three months every year up to the 
time of his death. I was growing up, and had 
little time for anything else but the very severe 
course of studies to which I was subjected. In 
summer, 1870, sea baths were prescribed for me, 
and we went for the season to Odessa. Whilst 
we were staying there the Franco-German war 
broke out. At that time, though the Germans 
were not liked in Russia, yet the remembrance of 
the Crimean war was still fresh in people's minds, 
and the strong leanings toward Prussia which, with 
the solitary exception of the heir to the throne, 
the whole of the Imperial family entertained, made 
the public chary in its good wishes for the success 
of the French arms. The news of the first reverses 
of the army of Napoleon were therefore rather 
welcome than otherwise to a Russian's prejudice 
against that monarch. No one, however, antici- 

54 



THE SIEGE OF PARIS 

pated the series of reverses out of which the new 
German Empire was to rise. It came therefore 
as a shock when the surrender of Sedan sealed the 
fate of the second Empire. 

We heard about it at Odessa the same evening. 
We were walking up and downi the Boulevard, 
which is the public promenade there, when General 
Count Lambert, one of the aides-de-camp of the 
Emperor, approached my father and asked him 
whether he had learned the news. As it happened 
he had not, and his first thought was to rush to 
the telegraph office and to send a wire to his 
sisters, after which he began discussing the possible 
consequences of the great event. 

When Paris was invested we spent a sad time, 
and that winter dragged along very slowly and 
anxiously in the expectation of news, which every 
day became worse. Metz surrendered, then came 
all the other French reverses, and at last the 
capitulation of Paris, and the armistice, very soon 
after which, we received the first letters from my 
aunts which gave us the details of the siege. 
Madame de Balzac never doubted that an insur- 
rection would be the sequel to that long series of 
calamities. She wrote to her brother to be pre- 
pared for the worst, as nothing short of a miracle 
could prevent civil war from breaking out. 

When the horrors of the Commune were over 
my father started with us for Paris. When we 
got there the town was still smoking, so to 
say. The Tuileries were one mass of blackened 
ruins, and the Vendome Column lay upon the 

55 



MY KECOLLECTIONS 

ground, broken into three large fragments. French 
society was more or less scattered ; the Bona- 
partists, who in spite of everything lived in hopes 
of a restoration, if not of the Emperor, at least 
of his son upon the throne, kept themselves 
outwardly very quiet in the fear of exciting the 
suspicions of M. Thiers. The Orleans Princes 
were trying to inaugurate that attitude of bon 
bourgeois which they imagined would be bene- 
ficial to their interests, until the time when the 
natural course of events would put them into 
possession of the inheritance of the Comte de 
Chambord. The general public believed that a 
monarchical restoration was only a matter of time. 
M. Thiers alone knew what he was doing, and 
where he was leading the country whose destinies 
he had been called upon to control. He played 
his cards admirably, as appears now from the 
beautiful book in which M. Hanotaux has de- 
scribed the struggle out of which the third 
Republic was to emerge, probably never to be 
superseded any more in France by another form 
of government. 

It was during the winter which followed upon 
the war that I began to feel interested in politics. 
They were being continually discussed at my 
aunt's, and one heard nothing else around one but 
that one subject. 1 spent all the time when I 
was not studying at the Hotel Balzac ; and, young 
as I was, I used to get quite excited at all 1 
used to hear, and to treasure in my memory many 
remarks I heard around me. I don't know how 

56 



BETROTHAL 

it was that they allowed me to be present at con- 
versations which certainly were not intended for 
a child, but the fact was there, and I owe perhaps 
to this circumstance many of the tastes to which 
later on in life I was to cling. 

We returned to Russia in the spring of 1873. 
In the autumn of that same year I became engaged 
to my husband at the early age of fifteen and a 
half years, and to this day I am in ignorance how 
the matter was arranged, but arranged it was 
between my father and my brother-in-law. 

I have often wondered how my father, who 
loved me so tenderly, could have been a party 
to such a hurried affair. The only explanation 
I can find is that he was getting on in years, and 
wished to see me settled before he died. He had 
begun at that time to suffer from the heart disease 
to which he eventually succumbed, which might 
have had some influence upon the decision he 
came to. It is also likely that he was tempted 
by the great position he thought he had secured 
for me. If my father had any fault it was the 
pride of birth, and the determination that his 
daughter should follow in the steps of all his 
ancestresses, and add to the glory of the great 
alliances the family had been faithful to, ever since 
it began to play a part in the history of its country. 

No matter what may have been the real reason 
for my engagement, the fact is that it took place, 
and as soon as the matter was settled the question 
arose of my presentation at the Court where it 
was not intended I should live. 

57 



MY RECOLLECTIONS 

We were in the month of August, the Emperor 
was expected at KiefFwith the Empress, on their 
way to the Crimea, so I was taken there to be 
introduced for the first time to my sovereign. 

I felt terribly frightened : the more so that 
the dreaded presentation was to take place at the 
railway station, in the presence of all the world and 
his wife. I was arrayed in a white muslin gown 
which I believe was atrociously made, and, like a 
lamb about to be slaughtered, was ushered into 
the Imperial presence. 

The first person who met us was old Countess 
Bloudoff, a favourite lady - in - waiting to the 
Empress, and a very great friend of my grand- 
mother's. She received me most kindly, and began 
talking to me of my mother. INIy fright gradually 
subsided, and I allowed myself to be soothed into 
some kind of composure by the dear old lady. 
We became great friends in later years, and when 
she died I experienced one of the great sorrows 
of my life. She was kindness itself, and I shall 
never forget the help she was to me at that first 
trying moment of my life when I looked for the 
first time upon the world in which I was destined 
to live and play a part. 

The sovereigns soon appeared. The Emperor 
came into the room first, with the grace and 
dignity which were one of his chief characteristics. 
Alexander II. at that time had not become cursed 
with the suspiciousness which embittered the last 
years of his life, and made him look upon all 
those he did not know well as natural enemies. 

58 



THE EMPRESS MARIE 

He was the embodiment of courtesy, and his 
manner was very regal both in speech and appear- 
ance. He was a handsome man, holding himself 
very erect in his uniform, with a countenance 
which would have been more impressive still, if 
the eyes had not had a dreamy, almost stealthy 
look, which seemed to be always wandering. He 
addressed my father with great afFabihty, and then 
looking at me said, ' Comme elle rappelle sa mere ! ' 

The Empress, who made her appearance a 
few moments after her husband, was already suf- 
fering from the illness to which she eventually 
succumbed. She was a slight, graceful woman, 
with a sweet countenance, but a look of extreme 
delicacy. I never saw her again, but can remember 
very well her soft voice, and the low tones in which 
she spoke. She said a few words to me, but did 
not show any particular amiabiUty to any one of 
those who were present, speaking nevertheless to 
every person in the room. Her daughter, the 
Grand Duchess Marie Alexandrowna, at present 
Dowager Duchess of Coburg, whose engagement 
to the Duke of Edinburgh had just been an- 
nounced, followed her, but kept very much in 
the background, The whole ceremony lasted only 
a few minutes. The Imperial couple entered 
their railway carriage, and the assembly dispersed 
with, on my part, a feeling of the intensest relief. 

This episode of my presentation had a curious 
sequel. INIy father, I do not know why, had not 
communicated to the Emperor the news of my en- 
gagement. He heard of it, of course, very soon 

69 



MY RECOLLECTIONS 

afterwards, and caused his trusted INIinister of the 
Household, Count Adlerberg, to write a sharp letter 
to my father on the subject. I do not think he 
quite liked the idea of a young heiress, such as I 
was, being sent out of the country, and though 
his affection for the Prussian Royal family would 
have prevented him from forbidding the match, 
yet as I heard later on, he was anything but 
pleased with it. 

I was married very quietly at the parish church 
on my father's estate on the 26th of October, 1873. 
My brother-in-law and two of his sisters came over 
for the ceremony, which was celebrated in the 
strictest privacy according to the rites of the 
Greek Church. My husband and myself left 
almost immediately afterwards for St. Petersburg, 
on a visit to my grandmother, whence we went 
to Berlin, where my new and real life began. 



60 



CHAPTER IV. 

Berlin after the War — Emperor or King? — The Old Radzi- 
will Palace — Family Parties — The Emperor William'' s 
First Love — / meet Von Moltke — My First State Dinner 
— Am presented to the Empress — The Prince and Priiwess 
Charles — The Red Prince — A Court in Mourning — ' Un 
Cadeau de la Reine ' — Entertainments at Court — The 
Beautiful Duchess of Manchester — / dine zvith the 
Emperor. 

When I arrived in Berlin in November, 1873, 
the German Empire was quite a new thing, and 
the Court as well as society were still what they 
had been when no thought of future grandeur 
had entered their minds. The Emperor was 
mostly called the King, and indeed he never called 
himself anything else. There was even to be 
observed a certain regret, on the part of the old 
Prussian aristocracy, at the merging of their old 
Kingdom into the new Empire. They keenly 
regretted the traditions which appeared to them 
to be inseparable from the Prussian Eagle, and 
which were not yet incorporated into the Imperial 
Crown. People were still dazzled by the extra- 
ordinary series of military successes which had sud- 
denly raised their country from a small State to 
the greatest monarchy in Europe. Nothing seemed 
settled yet, and even in Court ceremonies an un- 
certaintj^ as it were, prevailed. One never knew 

61 



MY RECOLLECTIONS 

whether to address the sovereign as Emperor or 
King. He himself clung with a tenacity which 
lasted up to his death to the old title, whilst the 
Empress Augusta, and especially the Crown Prince, 
were very punctilious as to the observance of the 
new one. I remember a curious instance of this 
slight difference of opinions. One evening during 
a ball given by General von Kameke, the then 
War Minister, the Emperor approached me, and 
talking about the weather (it was early in March), 
remarked how mild it was for that time of the 
year, adding that the ' Queen ' had brought him 
that morning some violets which she had plucked 
in the garden of the Palace. The Crown Prince 
happened to be standing near, and he remarked 
instantly : ' Yes, the Empress told me about them,' 
to which his father retorted, 'When did you see 
the Queen ?' 

At that time, which seems to me so far away 
that I can hardly believe I lived through it, for 
so many events have crowded themselves in the 
past thirty years, my husband's family was a very 
numerous one. They all lived together in the 
old Radziwill Palace, since bought by the State, 
which had been left in the same condition it 
was in at the time my husband's grandmother, the 
Princess Louise of Prussia, for whom it had been 
bought, had inhabited it. My mother-in-law 
occupied one half of the State apartments, whilst 
her sister, who had married my father-in-law's 
brother, hved in the other half. The other mem- 
bers of the family were crowded in all parts of 

62 



THE RADZIWILL MENAGE 

the house, all of them more or less uncomfort- 
ably, but with no idea of leaving the roof which 
seemed destined to harbour them up to the time 
of their death. For my part, I found an apart- 
ment prepared for me in what anywhere else 
would have been called the garret, but which re- 
joiced in the name of appartement aux fenetres 
en mansarde. We used to dine at the unearthly 
hour of five o'clock with my mother-in-law, her 
two unmarried daughters, and her second son. 
After the meal we were expected to retire into 
our rooms and to reassemble again at half- past 
nine, alternatively at my mother-in-law's and at 
her sister's, where we spent the rest of the even- 
ing until the stroke of eleven released us. Tea 
was served at a large round table, and the ladies 
of the family sat at another, knitting or working. 
I cannot say that the conversation was lively ; it 
mostly ran upon the doings of the Court, the 
health of the Royal family, and other subjects of 
the like importance. My sister-in-law, a French- 
woman by birth. Mademoiselle de Castellane, who 
had all the wit of her family and of her nation, 
generally did all she could to bring a spark of 
gaiety into these solemn gatherings, but I cannot 
say that she was very successful. Even the pre- 
sence of strangers did not break the stiffness of 
these wearisome evenings. The visitors, for the 
most part, were old friends of my father-in-law's, 
and Poles of note who happened to be in Berlin, 
with some members of the most exclusive and 
aristocratic families of Prussia, and the leaders of 

63 



MY RECOLLECTIONS 

the Roman Catholic party in the country and in 
both houses of the Prussian ParHament. Some- 
times, oftener than was pleasant for the comfort of 
the younger members of the family, the Empress 
— and when she was in Berlin her daughter, the 
Grand Duchess of Baden — used to put in an 
appearance quite unexpectedly, when there was a 
general flight among the male portion of the in- 
habitants of the house. This kind of thing used 
to take place during the winter season, when the 
Court was in the capital, about twice a month ; 
and about as many times weekly, if not oftener, 
some of us were invited to spend the evening at 
the Palace, in what was called the ' Queen's bon- 
bonniere,' about which evenings I shall have more 
to say later on. 

The Radziwill family, at the time of my mar- 
riage, was composed of my mother-in-law, her 
children, and her sister with her children. My 
mother-in-law, by birth an Austrian, belonging to 
the illustrious House of Clary Aldringen, was one 
of the kindest women alive, if not gifted with an 
over-amount of intelligence. To me she showed 
herself the best of friends, if sometimes tantalis- 
ing, and I can only speak of her with affection 
and respect. Hers had been the life of the vir- 
tuous woman of which speaks the Scriptures. She 
had borne nine children, out of whom she lost 
five, all grown up, and, with one exception, all of 
consumption. Her married hfe, though admir- 
ably well-conducted, had I suspect been far from 
happy. INIy father-in-law, who had died during 

64 



A WILL OF IRON 

the French war, and whom I had never known, 
was — if one is to believe the accounts that are 
^iven of him — a most tyrannical, overbearing, 
^nd unbearable personage. He ruled his family 
with an iron hand, and controlled every one of 
their actions as well as every detail connected 
with the immense household of the Radziwill 
Palace. Neither his wife nor his children were 
allowed to say one word, or to do the slightest 
thing he did not approve of. His wife had been 
absolutely cowed by his iron, inflexible will, until 
she seemed to have lost every desire to attain 
individuality of any kind. He held the opinion 
that women had to be kept in the background, 
and not allowed to express an interest in anything 
else but dress, children, and gossip. His influ- 
ence reigned supreme in his family for years 
after his death, and I think it was only when 
the old house, in which he had been born and 
died, had been sold, that they began to realise it 
was time for them to begin to live an independent 
existence. 

My father-in-law's mother had been a Princess 
of Prussia, the niece of Frederick the Great, 
and this introduction of a Royal Highness in 
the family had given it a quasi-Royal rank, which 
began to be contested only when the favourite 
Master of the Ceremonies of the Empress Augusta 
elaborated the new rules for precedence for the 
German Empire. Princess Louise of Prussia, who 
became the wife of Prince Anthony Radziwill, had 
been the intimate friend of the unfortunate Queen 

65 F 



MY RECOLLECTIONS 

of the same name, whom she had accompanied 
during her flight at Memel. Her son, my father- 
in-law, had been born three days before the little 
Prince who was destined in the course of events 
to wear the Imperial Crown of a united Ger- 
many; they were brought up together, and no- 
thing in after life ever disturbed their friendship, 
which was further increased by the passionate 
love which Prince William of Prussia, as he was 
called at that time, conceived for the beautiful 
Elisa Radziwill, my father-in-law's sister. So 
much has been written about that romance that 
I feel constrained to correct the story. It is as- 
serted that my aunt died of a broken heart, after 
King Frederick William III. refused his consent 
to her marriage with his second son. People have 
extolled the sacrifice the unhappy young lady was 
called upon to make, and transformed her into a 
victim of State reasons. In reality things were very 
different. The only victim in this romance was 
Prince William, who was passionately fond of his 
cousin, whilst she was more sensible to the material 
advantages of a union with him, than to the deep 
affection she had inspired him with. When her 
marriage had been definitely broken off", she very 
soon consoled herself, and at the time of her death, 
which was due to pulmonary consumption, she 
was actually engaged to an Austrian nobleman, 
which proves that it did not take her very long 
to heal her broken heart. The Prince, however, 
always remained true and faithful to the love of 
his youth, and Elisa Radziwill's portrait adorned 

66 



A NIECE OF TALLEYRAND 

the writing table of the old Emperor up to his 
death, whilst the remembrance of his love for her 
made him look upon her family with eyes different 
from those with which he looked upon the rest of 
the world. 

To return to my father-in-law: he had not been 
liked in his family, and, for my part, I was very 
thankful to have been spared an acquaintance with 
him. But I found his influence still reigning in 
the house, and the sort of daily routine he had 
established was observed as regularly as if he had 
still been there to see that it was carried out. 

My husband had at the time of my marriage 
three sisters and two brothers, the elder of whom 
was one of the favourite aides-de-camp of the old 
Emperor, and the one who conveyed to Benedetti 
at Ems the message which had for consequence 
the Franco -German War. His wife is one of 
the persons I respect most in the world, and cer- 
tainly one of the few really remarkable women 
in Europe. Her intelligence recalls that of her 
great-uncle, the famous Talleyrand ; and, added 
to this, she has a very warm heart, is a true 
friend, a generous character, and is possessed of 
the noblest qualities which can adorn a woman, 
who has also known many sorrows and disappoint- 
ments in life, and who has borne them with a 
smihng face. My sister-in-law is one of the most 
influential persons in Berlin ; her salon is a social 
power, and has been such for a long number of 
years. During the lifetime of the Empress Augusta 
she had quite a unique position, and, one can say so 

67 



MY RECOLLECTIONS 

now, exercised over the old lady an influence that 
no one has ever shared with her, and which, I 
think, I can safely say she never used to harm any 
one, not even those whom she had reason to dislike. 
1 do not know whether I shall ever see my sister- 
in-law again, but if this book should fall into 
her hands, I hope she will see in it the great 
esteem in which I hold her, as well as my gratitude 
for innumerable kindnesses I have experienced at 
her hands. 

This said, I will dispose briefly of the other 
members of my husband's family. My other 
brother-in-law has played too small a part to de- 
serve notice ; as for his sisters, one died in childbirth 
in 1877 ; another succumbed to illness at Cairo in 
1876 — she was the one with whom I was most 
intimate ; and the eldest one married Prince Hugo 
Windisch Graetz. 

We reached Berlin, with my husband, one very 
wet November evening, and were received in the 
great hall of the Radziwill Palace by my mother- 
in-law and the whole of her family. It was a 
Saturday, if I remember well, and one of the first 
things I was told, almost before any greetings had 
been exchanged, was that three days later my 
brother-in-law was giving a very large dinner in 
my honour. To say I was dismayed would be 
using a feeble expression. I was a mere child, and 
felt too frightened for words. I would have infi- 
nitely preferred to have been given some weeks to 
get used to my new life and surroundings. But, of 
course, I could not say anything, and so a few 

68 



FIELD-MARSHAL VON MOLTKE 

days later saw me launched into the midst of 
Berlin society. 

I shall never forget that dinner. I had never 
seen anything like it, nor attended any function in 
the least resembling it. Taken straight out of the 
schoolroom into the great world, I felt as if I 
should never get used it. Certainly I never sus- 
pected that the day would come when I should 
enjoy it. 

All the old friends of the Radziwill family 
were present at the dinner, foremost among them 
the celebrated Field-Marshal von Moltke, who had 
been in long bygone days chief of the staff of my 
father-in-law at the time the latter had been in 
command of an army corps at Magdeburg, and who 
had remained on intimate terms with him to the 
last. He was the personage whom I was most 
curious to see. My father had specially commis- 
sioned me to tell him my impressions about the 
great warrior, so I tried to subdue my fright, and 
to attempt a conversation with him, when, with 
a wonderful condescension, he came and sat by 
me, and began a talk which could by no means 
have been amusing to him. He spoke French 
very well indeed, which put me at my ease, for 
at that time I did not understand one word of 
German, and I believe he tried to make himself 
pleasant, as pleasant as he could. It seems, as I 
learned later, that my face reminded him of his dead 
wife's, and whether this was true or not I cannot 
tell, but certainly, so long as I lived in Berlin, the 
illustrious soldier was always most kind to me, and, 

69 



MY RECOLLECTIONS 

though he had the justly deserved reputation of 
being silent, yet he never missed an opportunity, 
when we met, of saying a few kind words to me. 

I do not remember very well now who were 
the other guests at the dinner. I know that long 
speeches were made, which, I suppose, were a wel- 
come to the bride, as well as allusions to the virtues 
of the family she had entered into, for all the women 
put their pocket-handkerchiefs to their eyes, and 
my mother-in-law wept quite loudly. As I did 
not understand one word of what was being said, 
I suppose I produced upon the assembly the im- 
pression of being a most callous person. 

A few days after this debut into society the 
Court returned to Berlin from Baden-Baden, and 
the question of my presentation was at once 
mooted. My mother-in-law wrote to the Empress, 
and the very next day was told to bring me with 
her, to be introduced. 

I must confess my heart was beating, and I 
hated the whole procedure. Apart from every- 
thing else, I was afraid the Empress would ad- 
dress me in German, when I felt that the 
last remnants of my composure would surely 
give way. However, there was nothing to be 
done, and I had to make up my mind to face 
the ordeal. It was a cold morning, the snow 
covered the ground, and I remember thinking 
what a terrible thing it was to be dressed en toilette 
de ceremonie at the early hour of eleven o'clock. 
I donned one of my trousseau gowns, and we 
started. My sister-in-law had also been told to 

70 



THE COURT OF BERLIN 

come, and I felt her presence would be a comfort, 
as probably French would be spoken, her German 
being also rather indifferent. I was not mistaken 
in this hope. 

We arrived at the palace at the appointed 
hour, and were at once shown into a large room, 
called le salon blanc, which preceded the one in 
which the Empress generally gave her audiences. 
It was in later years to become almost as famihar 
to me as my own rooms. 

The palace, which was occupied by the old 
King, was a most unpretentious building, very shab- 
bily furnished, and which could have been taken 
for a private house, so simple and modest it was. 
I had been expecting magnificence, such as I knew 
was met with at the Russian Court, and was 
slightly disappointed: a feeling, which, however, 
gave place to amazement when we were shown, 
after a few moments' waiting, into the presence of 
the sovereign. 

At the time I write about the Empress Augusta 
had reached the mature age of sixty-one years, and 
certainly gave one the impression of being older 
than that, perhaps on account of the very juvenile 
manner in which she was dressed. A gown of 
pale cream, very elaborately trimmed, slightly open 
at the neck, where it displayed a magnificent 
pearl necklace, seemed to my inexperienced eyes 
to be rather out of place at that early hour of 
the day. She wore a wig, composed of innumer- 
able curls, the colour of which would have been 
sufficient to cast doubts as to its genuineness. It 

71 



MY RECOLLECTIONS 

was surmounted by an erection of lace and pink 
ribbons, which must have had pretensions to be 
called a cap, but which did not bear much resem-- 
blance to the article. That strange get-up did 
not produce a favourable impression, but certainly 
nothing could be kinder than the welcome I re- 
ceived, and I felt it was most ungrateful on my 
part not to be more thankful ; but the Empress, as 
is well known, was not a sympathetic person, and 
the extreme affectation, which was her chief cha- 
racteristic, did her an immense amount of harm^ 
Her voice was not pleasant, and the peculiar 
manner in which she moved her hands jarred upon 
one's nerves. She kissed me, and at once began 
speaking to me of the virtues of the family which, 
had become my own, prophesying all kinds of nice 
things for my future. I listened to her without,^ 
of course, daring to open my mouth, but in silent 
wonder, not at what she said, but at her manners, 
and the sound of her voice. She talked to me for 
about a quarter of an hour exactly as if she had 
been repeating a lesson learned by heart beforehand, 
then, addressing my sister-in-law, at once plunged 
into other subjects, and discussed, among others, 
the marriage of the young Duke of Hamilton, 
whose betrothal to Lady Mary Montague, the 
daughter of the Duchess of Manchester, as she 
was called at that time, had just been made public. 
We were soon after this dismissed, the Empress 
doing so by getting up and making us a little 
courtesy, than which nothing could have been 
more graceful or more dignified. 

72 



PRINCESS CHARLES OF PRUSSIA 

The day which followed my presentation to 
the Queen I was introduced to her elder sister, 
Princess Charles of Prussia. 

Princess Charles was a very different person 
from the Empress. Just as affected in her way,, 
she was yet far more sympathetic and certainly a. 
great deal more liked. Had she not, like her sister,, 
persisted in trying to appear young, she would 
have been quite charming. One thing is certain, 
she had none of that love for intrigue which was 
one of the principal characteristics of the Empress, 
and she had an amount of tact the latter never 
possessed. The two ladies were not supposed to 
be inordinately fond of each other. People said that 
Princess Charles did not quite relish having to give 
up precedence to her younger sister, and that she 
secretly envied her the Imperial Crown which had 
descended upon her head. I do not know, of 
course, how far this assertion was true, but it 
did not require a very astute observer to notice 
that relations between the two sisters were more 
formal than tender. 

Prince Charles himself was in his way just as 
fascinating a man as his brother, the Emperor. He 
represented one of the best types of an eighteenth- 
century grand seigneur, and his manner to women 
was quite perfection ; neither too much nor too 
little, but gallant with just a shade of reticence, 
which suggested that had he been in another 
position he would have hastened to lay the de- 
votion of his whole heart at the feet of every 
woman to whom he was speaking. He was im- 

73 



MY RECOLLECTIONS 

mensely popular in society, and the receptions 
which were held at the palace on the Wilhelm 
Platz were far more appreciated than those of the 
Empress Augusta. 

Prince and Princess Charles of Prussia had an 
only son, the celebrated Red Prince. This for- 
midable personage, in spite of his brilliant military 
talents, had never known how to make himself 
popular in society. His manners were brusque, and 
rumour attributed to him many most unsympa- 
thetic qualities, one of which showed itself in his 
treatment of his wife. 

This unfortunate lady, by birth a Princess of 
Anhalt, was one of the most charming as well as 
one of the most lovely women of her time. Gifted 
with the rarest qualities of heart and mind as well 
as with extraordinary talent both for music and 
painting, she had led the saddest of lives ever since 
the day when she was led to the altar by the Red 
Prince. Being unfortunately very deaf, this in- 
firmity had helped to make her reticent and shy of 
the world. But her kindness was genuine, and 
whenever she had an opportunity she helped other 
people, and was always ready to advise or comfort 
them in their sorrows. Personally I shall never 
forget her goodness or the sympathy 1 invariably 
met at her hands all through the long years during 
which I lived in Berlin. 

Prince and Princess Frederick Charles occupied 
a suite of rooms in the old castle in Berlin, and the 
iirst time I was taken to the Princess, in order to 
be introduced to her, we found her surrounded 

74 



GERMAN ROYALTY 

with her three daughters, the two eldest of whom 
were just beginning to go out into society, and 
equalled their mother in loveliness, whilst the 
third, young Princess Margaret, now Duchess of 
-Connaught, was still in short frocks, and not out of 
the schoolroom. 

Leaving aside the Crown Prince and Crown 
Princess, of whom I shall speak later on, the 
Royal family comprised, in addition to the persons 
I have named, the son of the Emperor's youngest 
brother, Prince Albert, now Regent of Brunswick ; 
his wife, a Princess of Saxe-Altenburg, and his 
sister. Princess Alexandrine, whose quarrels with 
her husband, Prince William of INlecklenburg, were 
at regular intervals coming up before the public. 
The two daughters of Prince and Princess Charles 
of Prussia were rarely, if ever, seen in Berlin, and 
two cousins of the Emperor, Prince Alexander and 
Prince George, both unmarried and both more or 
less eccentric, had no influence whatever in society. 
Prince Augustus of Wurtemburg, in command of 
the Corps of the Guards, and brother of the Grand 
Duchess Helen of Russia was living in BerUn, 
and going about very much, being a general fa- 
vourite in society. Prince Frederic of Hohen- 
zoUern was not married yet, and did not count for 
much among the Royalties, as he lived quite like 
a private person. 

The Queen Dowager, widow of King Frederick 
William IV., fell seriously ill at Dresden, where 
she had been staying with her sister, the Queen 
of Saxony, about the time I married. She died 

75 



MY RECOLLECTIONS 

early in November, and to my intense dismay I 
found myself obliged to put aside all my pretty 
trousseau dresses, and to smother myself in crape, 
for a person I had never seen. Court mourning 
was not a joke at Berlin at that time, whatever 
it may be now. Whenever the notice of it ap- 
peared the whole of society covered itself with 
garments of woe, and every kind of gaiety was 
instantly put a stop to. Queen Elizabeth, having 
been a reigning sovereign, the mourning for her 
was as severe as it could well be, and consisted of 
long black cashmere dresses, a kind of Mary 
Stuart cap of black crape, and two veils, one 
falling over the face, and the other trailing 
behind to the very ground ; the last-mentioned 
had to be worn indoors, and I remember my 
mother-in-law insisting on our decking ourselves 
with it every evening for dinner, in anticipation 
of a possible visit from the Empress, which event 
did actually occur two or three times during the 
period when these trappings of woe were pre- 
scribed. In Russia black is never worn on holi- 
days, but in Germany it is different, and even on 
New Year's Day we went and offered our good 
wishes to the Emperor and Empress in our crape 
dresses and veils, and anything more gloomy I 
am sure I have never seen, either before or after 
that, in the whole of my life. 

The first Christmas that followed upon my 
marriage was thus spent in all the gloom of black 
clothes. On the 26th of December, the Empress 
appeared at my mother-in-law's, accompanied by 

76 



ROYAL BOUNTY 

her daughter, the Grand Duchess of Baden, and 
brought with her an enormous bag filled with 
various trifles which she distributed among us as 
Christmas presents. These occasions were dreaded 
by everybody, as anjrthing more hideous than the 
knick-knacks the poor Empress used to bring 
could hardly be imagined. My husband, with 
his cousins, had composed on the subject a little 
song of which the refrain was : — 

* Un vilain, vilain, vilain cadeau de la Reine ; 
Un vilain, vilain cadeau de la Reine.' 

The fact was that she never gave a pretty 
thing, and on this particular Christmas, the first 
in my experience when I was admitted among the 
recipients of her bounty, I remember having been 
scared by the sight of an appalling thermometer 
in green bronze representing the Column of Victory 
in Berlin, which in itself is a hideous monument. 
As my ill luck would have it, I was made the 
unhappy recipient of this monstrosity, and never 
could get rid of it in after life. No matter where 
I moved, the dreadful thing followed me. It 
would not get broken, or lost, or even mislaid ; 
it was impossible to give it to a bazaar, and I 
expect that one day it will turn up again from 
one of my boxes, when I least expect it. 

These presents of the Queen remind me of an 
adventure which befell one of them, and caused 
my poor mother-in-law a few sleepless nights. 
She had received for a birthday present from the 
Empress a table in white china ornamented by 

77 



MY RECOLLECTIONS 

her Majesty herself with paintings of the kind 
called Decalcomanie. It was anything but beau- 
tiful, and was at once relegated to a dark corner 
of the apartment, whence it only emerged when 
the good Augusta was expected. This kind of 
thing lasted for about two years, when at last 
my mother-in-law thought she might venture to 
dispose of the ugly thing, and gave it to a bazaar 
held in her own house. She carefully waited until 
the Empress had paid it a visit, and then, feeling 
sure of impunity, sent it there. As it happened the 
Emperor appeared the next day, and after having 
been taken round the rooms was at once caught 
by the unfortunate table, and in spite of frantic 
efforts made by my sister-in-law to prevent him,, 
proceeded to buy it as a present for the Empress. 
One may imagine the consternation ! However,. 
Augusta, if she recognised her own present, 
showed herself merciful, for she made no allusion 
to its fate. 

No one could accuse the Court of Berlin of 
inhospitality. Both the sovereigns liked to en- 
tertain, and it was rarely that an evening went 
by without some person being invited to spend 
the evening at the palace. These daily Soirees were 
called 'les soirees de la Bonbonni^re' from the 
room in which they were held, which formed part 
of the apartment of the Grand Duchess of Baden, 
the Emperor's daughter. There were rarely more 
than five or six people invited. The Empress used 
to preside at one round table, whilst the Emperor,, 
who usually appeared a little late, sat at the other. 

78 



'LES SOIREES DE LA BONBONNIERE ' 

Tea, cakes, ices (always of the same kind), and 
roasted chestnuts, which were most difficult to eat 
on account of the gloves it was against etiquette 
to take off, were handed round in turns. Her 
Majesty, who usually worked at some kind of em- 
broidery, directed the conversation in the channel 
she liked best, and it always took place in French. 
Any new book was discussed as well as the current 
reviews, and not a little gossip took place before the 
King appeared. As it was nearly always the same 
people who met at these entertainments, one was 
pretty sure what was going to be related or said 
before even one entered the room. It would be 
a stretch of pohteness to say these evenings were 
not dull, though they gave those who were invited to 
them the opportunity of hearing a great many things 
they would otherwise have known nothing about. 
It was in the Bonbonni^re that the old Emperor 
once discussed the Berlin Congress with me, the 
only time I ever talked politics with him, of which 
conversation I shall speak later on. 

Apart from these small gatherings, there were 
about three or four Court balls during the season^ 
one of which took place in the small palace which 
the Emperor occupied, whilst the others were 
given in the old castle. These were very grand 
affairs, and comprised all the world and his wife, 
so far as they were of a rank justifying an invita- 
tion being extended to them. The last one of 
the Carnival took place on Shrove Tuesday, and 
marked the end of the dancing season, for at the 
time I was married, no one would have thought 

79 



MY KECOLLECTIONS 

of giving or attending a ball in Lent, as it was 
well known that the Empress had strong Roman 
CathoUc leanings. Courting her displeasure was 
more than many would have dared, as it practically 
meant exclusion from the Court festivities, and, 
after all, enlertainments in the White Hall of the 
Old Castle, as it was called, were not to be de- 
spised. They were really on a grand scale, and 
certainly the sight of the Imperial cortege enter- 
ing the ballroom constituted one of the finest 
spectacles in the world. At the present day 
they say the White Hall has been modernised 
and improved, but, at the time I am speaking 
of, it was already a fine apartment. There were 
galleries upstairs from whence one could watch 
the movements of the guests, and which con- 
stituted an excellent place of retirement for those 
who were tired, or weary with the crowd, and the 
necessity of standing through the whole evening. 
In the ballroom itself, a dais was erected at one 
end for the Royal family, on the left of which 
the Corps Diplomatique was grouped, whilst the 
right side was reserved for the ladies of princely 
families, having the title of Serene Highness or 
Durchlaucht. Opposite the throne were the other 
ladies, with those who rejoiced in the appellation 
of ' Excellency ' at their head. The ball was 
generally opened by a waltz, of which the first 
pair were the maid of honour and the aide- 
de-camp on duty, followed by one of the young 
Princesses of the Royal family, and the cavalier 
she had honoured with an invitation. This was suc- 

80 



COURT BALLS AT BERLIN 

-ceeded by a solemn quadrille in which the Crown 
Prince and Princess generally took part, after which 
the stiffness of the evening gave way to more or 
less general enjoyment. 

At about midnight supper was announced, and 
the company distributed itself in strict order of 
precedence into different rooms. At the door of 
each, a chamberlain was stationed to prevent in- 
truders from invading those which they were not 
allowed to enter. This supper was always more 
or less of a crush, but 1 have never seen enacted 
the scenes of confusion which take place at large 
Court balls in St. Petersburg. 

Popular as these entertainments were, invita- 
tions to them were not half so eagerly sought 
after as those to the small ball which once a year 
took place at the Emperor's own palace. To be 
asked to it was the ambition of every woman in 
Berlin society, for the fact of having been invited 
to thaty^^^ placed at once the lucky being, who 
had been thus honoured, among, not the upper 
ten thousand, but among the upper thousand in 
Germany. Ladies kept their prettiest gowns for 
that day, and at the beginning of each season it 
was always a matter of anxiety to mothers of de- 
butantes to know whether their daughters were 
going to be admitted to the charmed circle of 
those who were to enjoy the personal hospitality 
of the sovereign or not. In reality these dances, 
for, from the Mmited number of guests one could 
hardly call them anything else, differed in no 
way from entertainments given by private people, 

81 G 



MY RECOLLECTIONS 

Nothing could be plainer than their scale, but the 
great charm of them consisted in the kind way 
in which the Royal hosts received their guests and 
bade them welcome. It was on these occasions 
that the proverbial amiability of the old Emperor 
was seen to its fullest advantage, and it was at 
them he displayed the gallantry which had made 
of him in his youth one of the most fascinating 
personages in Europe. 

Apart from balls the winter season in Berlin 
was ushered in generally by a large dinner offered 
by the King and Queen to the Foreign Ambas- 
sadors, and afterwards by a Drawing - room, or 
Court, as it was called, which enabled all the 
different classes of society to offer their homage 
to the sovereigns. When I arrived in Germany, 
it consisted in the guests being stationed in the 
different rooms of the castle, and the Emperor 
and Empress walking through them on their way 
to the White Hall where a concert took place; but 
later on, when the Empress became too infirm for 
this kind of promenade, it was replaced by her 
taking her seat on the throne, whilst her guests 
passed before her in quick succession. This cere- 
mony generally began at eight o'clock, which 
necessitated an early dinner, and the pleasure of 
getting at an unearthly hour into a Court train, 
tiara, and feathers. 

No invitations were sent out for these Courts, 
but all those who were comprised in what was 
called Court society made it a point to attend 
them, as it was generally supposed that when this 

82 



THE OLD KAISER 

was omitted, one's name was struck off the list of 
Court balls. Members of Parliament appeared on 
these occasions, as well as representatives of the 
merchant classes, and the Municipality of Berlin 
and Potsdam, and it was at one of these enter- 
tainments that the Emperor lost his temper with 
a member of the Reichstag, who had on some 
important military measure voted against the 
Government, and forgot himself so far, as to tell 
him he had no business to appear before his 
sovereign, after the animosity he had displayed 
against his politics. 

Such incidents were not frequent in the life of 
the Emperor William I., but when they did 
happen, they of course produced an immense 
surprise, more so indeed than they deserved, for 
in spite of all his gentleness and genuine ami- 
ability, the old Kaiser was at heart a furious auto- 
crat, and did not brook contradiction even to the 
smallest extent. 

Both the Emperor and Empress attended balls 
and entertainments at the Foreign Embassies, and 
at the principal famiUes of the Berlin aristocracy, 
such as the Dukes of Uyest and Ratibor, Prince 
Pless, &c. Ministers were also honoured by the 
Royal presence at their festivities, when they gave 
any, and every Thursday during Lent, concerts 
were held at the palace, which went under the 
appellation of the Empress's Thursdays, and to 
which the whole of the Royal family. Ambassadors 
and their wives (once a fortnight), and the 
rest of society, with the exception of a small circle 

83 



MY RECOLLECTIONS. 

which were honoured with a weekly command, 
were asked in turns, one person after another. 
Nothing could well have been duller. Every 
guest on arriving was assigned his or her place at 
the table of a member of the Royal family, and 
there one stuck for the whole of the evening, 
which began with a long circle, followed by a still 
longer concert, at which the same artists were 
heard year after year ; then supper was eaten at 
the same tables one had sat at the whole evening. 
This supper was served on the red velvet table- 
cloths, with which the tables were covered, and 
consisted invariably of the same menu, salmon 
with mayonnaise sauce, cold chicken and ices. 
Princess Frederick Charles, always witty, used to 
say that a barrel of that sauce was made at the 
beginning of each season, and had to do its whole 
length. She used to beguile the tediousness of the 
evening by drawing some of the funniest and 
cleverest caricatures I have ever seen in my Ufe. 

It was at one of these concerts I saw, for the 
first time, the present Duchess of Devonshire, then 
Duchess of Manchester, in the zenith of her mar- 
vellous beauty. She used to come to Berlin every 
spring to visit her father. Count von Alten, and her 
sisters, and was always made much of at Court. 
I remember well the day when I was introduced 
to her, and how she struck me as the loveliest 
creature I had ever set my eyes upon. Indeed, 
I have only met in my whole existence three 
women who could be compared to her: they are 
the present Duchess of Sermoneta, Countess de 

84 



THE COUNTESS VON BULOW 

Villeneuve, and a Russian lady, Madame Kitty 
Tolstoy. The Duchess d'Ossuna, later Duchess 
de Croy, though a beautiful creature, could not 
be compared to them, especially to Madame de 
Villeneuve, who, dying as she did, in the full 
possession of her loveliness, did not let her wor- 
shippers see the change that years are bound to 
bring along with them. 

It was also at these Thursdays that I met the 
present Countess von Bulow, the wife of the 
German Chancellor, when she was still Countess 
DonhofF, and a great friend of the Crown Princess 
of Germany. Fascinating as few beings can be, 
gifted with the rarest qualities of mind, reminding 
one of her distinguished mother, Donna Laura 
Minghetti, Madame von Bulow, from the first 
moment she appeared at the German Court, be- 
came one of its most shining lights, and though at 
that time no one could have guessed the future 
which lay in store for her, nor the romance which 
was to unite her life with one of the cleverest men 
in Europe, hers was a personality which could not 
pass unnoticed. She commanded sympathy and 
admiration from the first moment one set one's 
eyes upon her. 

Easter generally put an end to the Berlin 
season. The Empress left for Coblenz on the 
Rhine, or Baden-Baden ; and the Emperor, 
kept in town by military reviews and exercises, 
made use of the liberty left to him by the absence 
of his wife, to go about dining with his numerous 
friends. June generally saw him on his way to 

85 



MY RECOLLECTIONS 

Ems, and in August both he and the Empress 
returned to Potsdam, where they spent a month 
before proceeding on their autumn journeys, and 
where they entertained largely the few people 
whose sad fate had condemned them to spend the 
summer in the capital. 

I remember well the first time I dined at 
Babelsberg, as the residence of the sovereign was 
called ; it was on the 18th of August, 1875, the 
anniversary of the battle of Gravelotte. I sat at 
the right of the Emperor, and next to me was 
Colonel Lestock, who had been in command of the 
first regiment of the Guards on that fateful day. 
When champagne was handed round, the old 
King got up, and, raising his glass, spoke a few 
words in honour of the day, and with accents I 
have never forgotten, nor ever will forget, ex- 
pressed his gratitude to his faithful army for the 
devotion to duty and the courage it had displayed 
five years before. Tears were not only in his 
voice, but actually rolled down his cheeks, when 
he mentioned his dead mother, who had suffered 
so much at the hands of the Corsican adventurer, 
and when he had finished he held out his hand to 
Colonel Lestock, saying, as he did so, ' I thank you 
and my faithful regiment of the First Foot Guards.' 
Lestock kissed the sovereign's hand, and, raising 
his glass in turn, called for three cheers for the 
King. The scene, in its simplicity, had a grandeur 
which was very impressive. It printed itself on 
my youthful imagination of seventeen, and made 
me realise for the first time, perhaps, how terrible 

86 



ANNIVERSARY OF GRAVELOTTE 

and earnest had been the struggle which had 
resulted in the destruction of one Empire and 
the creation of another. The spectacle of that 
old man mentioning his mother's name, and ex- 
pressing his gratitude to his faithful troops for 
having avenged her, and wiped away the insults 
she had been obliged to submit to, made me 
understand the energy and the courage with which 
he had faced the task which had been laid before 
him. His simple words moved his listeners, and 
gave them an insight into his real character, more 
than a thousand long speeches would have done. 



87 



CHAPTER V. 

The Real Emperor William I. — His Tact aiul Unselfishness- 
as a Man — His Rapacity as a Sovereign — Relations with 
Bismarck — The Crown Prince Frederick contrasted with 
his Father — His Pride in the Empire — His Scruples — 
His Sympathy with Me in my first Great Sorrow. 

I HAD been already settled three months in Berlin, 
when 1 was for the first time introduced to the 
Emperor. He had been ill and confined to his 
room for a long time, so that, though I was fre- 
quently asked to the small soirees of the Empress, 
I had never seen her Royal Consort. When Queen 
Elizabeth died the Court mourning prevented any 
festivities, so it was about Christmas I met at last 
the old monarch. It was at a concert at the 
palace. He sent for me, or, rather, asked my 
husband to bring me over to him, when he addressed 
me with the kindness which made him such an 
attractive personality to all those who approached 
him. As time went on, and I knew the Emperor 
more closely, my admiration for him increased 
every day, and now, after so many years, I cannot 
help thinking with affection and gratitude of all the 
various kindnesses I experienced at his hands. He 
was certainly one of the remarkable monarchs of 
the century, and with abilities which did not rank 
above the average, he contrived, only through his. 
sense of duty, to achieve far greater results than 

88 



WILLIAM r. OF GERMANY 

even Frederick the Great, with all his genius, had 
performed. William I. s greatest quality was an 
absolute unselfishness. Whenever the interests of 
his beloved country required it, he was always ready 
to forget his personal feelings, or to sacrifice his 
personal preferences. He was by nature a soldier, 
with all the soldier's blind obedience, and with the 
soldier's respect for authority, which in his case was 
represented by God alone. He had the deep sense 
of the duties he knew he was born to fulfil, and 
was absolutely convinced of the reality of what 
to him appeared to be his mission upon earth. He 
was imbued with a sense of obligation to the 
Creator, and though always ready to forget himself 
never allowed others not to remember that 
he was their sovereign. But he performed this 
with such consummate tact that even when he 
asserted his dignity, those towards whom he did so 
could only admire him for it. I will give a personal 
example of what I mean by these words. 

One night at a ball given by the Prince and 
Princess Charles of Prussia, I had remained in the 
supper room a little later than the other guests, 
talking to one of the Emperor's aides-de-camp, 
Count Goltz. William I. saw us, and began chaffing 
me about what he called my flirtation. Count 
Goltz at that time was far advanced in the sixties, 
and so it could hardly be called dangerous. The 
Emperor was fond of a little joke, and amused 
himself in teasing me, ending with a more or less 
long conversation. Count Goltz made his escape,, 
and people having gradually left the room, I 

89 



MY RECOLLECTIONS 

remained alone with the Emperor. He suddenly 
noticed this, and laughingly said, ' We had better 
go back, or else your husband will be getting 
jealous.' He then offered me his arm, and led me 
back to the ballroom. Arrived at the door, he 
suddenly dropped my arm, in the kindest possible 
manner, with a joking remark of some kind, and 
-as I made him a curtsey, he drew himself up and 
entered the room alone, whilst I followed him a 
few paces behind, but he never left off talking to 
me the whole time. Of course, it would have been 
highly improper for the German Emperor to enter 
any room, even on a private occasion, let alone an 
official one, as this was, having on his arm a little 
girl like myself (I was about seventeen at the time), 
but I doubt whether many people would have been 
found who could have done what he did in the 
same kind way. 

I have mentioned this little episode because it 
will help, perhaps, the reader to form a true opinion 
of the character of the first German Emperor as 
applied to private life. He united the just pride 
of the ruler to the affability of a father, and it was 
impossible to be brought into contact with him 
without feeling attracted by his genuine qualities. 
I am speaking now of his private life, and judging 
him in his private capacity. If we look at him 
from the public point of view, my appreciation will 
perhaps be different from those who have not 
known him so weU as I have done. It may be 
that as a Russian I am not quite fair towards him, 
but it is impossible to have lived during the Russo- 

90 



THE BERLIN CONGRESS 

Turkish War of 1877-78 and not to have felt some 
kind of resentment at the way Germany, forgetting 
ivhat Russia had done for her a few short years 
before, had played into Lord Beaconsfield's hands. 
The Congress of Berlin is a page of Russian history 
which ought to be erased as soon as possible, if 
Russia is to keep up her prestige in the East. 
Events have already justified the conduct of Count 
Ignatiev, and the statesmanlike insight with which 
he had judged the situation, when at San Stefano 
he had signed the treaty England was to tear up, 
and Germany, forgetful of her obligations to the 
Power who had allowed her to crush poor France 
in 1870, had not insisted upon being respected. 

I do not think, however, that the Berlin Congress 
would have turned out as it did, if the old 
Emperor had been at the head of the Government 
at the time of its deliberations. But he was lying 
on a sick bed struck by the murderous hand of 
Nobiling, and the Crown Prince, who was Regent 
in his place, was too sincere an enemy of Russian 
politics to interfere in any way with the plans and 
decisions of Prince Bismarck; so that after all 
England had it her own way, and was the only 
Power who profited by the tremendous sacrifices 
Russia imposed upon herself in the struggle 
which restored to Bulgaria her independence. The 
Emperor WilUam had a latent conviction that 
Germany had not performed to advantage the 
part which was expected of her, and the only 
time he ever talked politics to me, one evening 
in the ' Bonbonniere,' he told me that he would 

91 



MY RECOLLECTIONS 

have preferred a smaller Bulgaria placed more 
directly under Russian influence, and that he had 
been horrified at the emancipation of Jews in 
Roumania. He added in a resentful tone that 
he had not been consulted at all during the Con- 
gress, and that the Crown Prince had had it all his; 
own way, adding that ' Prince Bismarck thought it 
was for the best.' I have often wondered since how 
this conversation came about, especially that (I 
repeat it once more) it was not the Emperor's- 
custom to talk politics with ladies. However, the 
conversation took place, and was more or less a 
one-sided affair, because, as the reader may well 
imagine, I only listened, and never ventured to 
open my mouth. 

To come back to the Emperor as a sovereign, 
I do not think in spite of Prince Bismarck's 
memoirs, or of the Crown Prince's diary, that 
the public at large has realised the extent of his 
ambition. He was, without doubt, covetous of 
his neighbours' possessions, and the Chancellor had 
the greatest trouble in the world, to get him to- 
consent to the conclusion of peace with Austria, 
after the decisive battle of Sadowa, or to persuade 
him it would be impolitic to annex the whole of 
the kingdom of Saxony. He could not under- 
stand that material victory did not carry with it 
the assimilation of the nation which had been 
vanquished. It was the same in 1870, and during 
the negotiations which had for immediate result 
the foundation of the present German Empire. 
The idea did not appeal to the Emperor, who in. 

92 



WILLIAM I. AND BISMARCK 

his inmost heart would have preferred to be a 
great King of Prussia instead of the first ruler of an 
Empire in which he was not the one and only 
authority. If Bavaria, Wiirtemberg, and the 
different minor States of South Germany could 
have been swept away, as was the kingdom of 
Hanover in 1866, he would have been deUghted 
to cover himself with the purple of the Csesars, 
but it jarred upon his nerves to find he had, if 
only in appearance, to share his authority with 
other monarchs whom he secretly despised. In 
this particular the Crown Prince resembled his 
father, though in a different way, as I shall show 
presently when I describe him. 

It has commonly been said and believed that 
the old Emperor did not give much of his atten- 
tion to politics, and that he was content to let the 
Chancellor rule as he liked. This is far from true, 
as the correspondence published the other day will 
have proved. The Emperor Uked to be consulted 
upon every point, and very often he absolutely 
refused to accept the opinion of Bismarck. He 
considered the army as his particular department, 
and in any case where it was concerned, it was 
the aU-powerful Minister that had to give in to 
WiUiam I., whose eminent quality was an almost 
infallible sense of the fitness of certain people for 
certain places. Without being brilliant, his com- 
mon sense was nearly akin to genius, and in 
questions which he beUeved to be vital to the 
welfare of Prussia he put aside likes or disUkes, 
and did the right thing at the right moment. 

93 



MY RECOLLECTIONS 

This explains how no intrigue, no effort, even those 
made by his wife and son, ever succeeded in shak- 
ing the position of Prince Bismarck. Once, it was 
in 1875 I think, the dismissal of the Chancellor 
was accepted as a fait accompli by the whole of 
Berlin society; it was during the Kulturkampf, 
and the Roman Catholic party, headed by my 
husband's family and strongly supported by the 
Empress, had made frantic efforts to oust the 
dreaded Minister. For a few short days they 
imagined they had succeeded, then all of a 
sudden the Emperor turned round, and wrote to 
his Chancellor that he hoped he would for long 
years to come continue to give his attention to 
public affairs. The sensation produced by this 
letter was immense. The Queen, quite disgusted, 
started for Coblenz the next day, and the indig- 
nation was general ; but this manifestation of the 
sovereign's personal strength of will effectually 
crushed all efforts at revolt, and neither the 
Empress nor any of her friends, ever attempted 
after that to try their hand at politics, however 
much they might discuss them among themselves. 
In this profound sense of patriotism, and this 
resolution to put the welfare of the State before 
every private feeling, the Crown Prince was very 
much akin to his father. He too was ready to 
sacrifice himself, but with one essential difference : 
whilst the old Emperor was always conscious of 
the dignity of the Crown, his son thought more 
about that of the wearer of it. Brought up in 
different times, he was all his life more or less 

94 



FREDERICK AS CROWN PRINCE 

under the impression of the humiliation of the 
events of 1848, which had left a never-to be- 
efFaeed impression upon his youthful mind. He 
had grown up under it just as his father had 
entered life under the more terrible shadow of 
Jena, and the disasters through which Prussia had 
seen its very existence threatened. An abyss lay 
between the two men : the abyss which separates 
the sacred rights of kings from those of a sovereign 
people. William I. had seen the foot of the 
Corsican adventurer pressed down heavily upon 
his nation and his dynasty ; he remembered the 
tears of his mother, and all those dark days when 
the Queen of Prussia wept in a mean little room 
at Memel. Frederick III. had witnessed the in- 
vasion of the palace of his fathers by the mob, 
and its triumph in the streets of the capital. 
He grew up with the image of Lassalle before 
his eyes, whilst his father had had that of the 
great Napoleon. 

This explains the difference between the two 
men of whom I have spoken ; it consisted of the 
distance which divides opinions from persons. The 
Crown Prince had, perhaps without realising it 
himself, felt the influence of the ideas which per- 
vaded the generation to which he belonged. His 
father, on the contrary, had never witnessed the 
struggle which at all times has existed between the 
old people who are going away, and the young ones 
who aspire to take their places in the world. In 
his days no differences divided fathers from their 
sons; they had one common object in view, the 

95 



MY RECOLLECTIONS 

'defeat of the man in whom they saw the enemy 
of all that they held dear. It was not a question 
of taking another generation's place, but the far, 
far more important one of winning back that place 
in which an usurper had boldly installed himself. 
Both old and young found themselves united in a 
common cause against a common foe. With 
Frederick III. things were very different. Born 
with a critical turn of mind, and a most generous 
-disposition, he was by nature the sort of man 
who would embrace any new idea, if he thought 
it could be conducive to his neighbour's good. 
Brought up in liberal opinions by his mother, 
profoundly imbued with a sense of obligation to- 
wards humanity in general, his greatest mistake, 
if mistake it can be called, was to put that hu- 
manity before individuahties and nationalities. He ] 
was not obstinate, and yet there was in him a 
good deal of the perseverance in opinions, which 
has always been one of the characteristics of the 
Hohenzollerns ; devoted to his wife, and influenced 
by his father-in-law, the late Prince Consort, he 
had taken him for his model, forgetting that the I 
position of a German Prince Consort in Consti- 
tutional England, could not be compared to that j 
of the legitimate sovereign of Prussia. He did 
not realise that the great respect which Prince ] 
Albert displayed, and with which he tried to 
imbue Queen Victoria, for constitutional govern- 
ment, might have had its source in the fact that 
British public opinion would never have forgiven 
him, had he ever forgotten it. Wisdom is often a 

96 



HEROISM OF EMPEROR FREDERICK 

matter of necessity ; it is certain that at the time 
of the famous struggle between the old Emperor 
and his son, in the early days of William I.'s 
reign, he was right, and the Crown Prince was 
wrong in fact, however much he might have been 
justified in theory. This struggle unfortunately 
created a source of bitterness between the two men, 
which even the glorious events that led to the 
restoration of the Empire did not succeed in 
effacing. 

It would have been difficult to find a more 
loving personality than that of Frederick III., 
he was everything that is noble, everything that 
is good ; to listen to him was to grow better, to 
be near him was to get away from all the pettiness 
of the world, from all the fret, the evil, the in- 
justice of so-called society. His mind was noble, 
his nature was true, his heart was kind. He had 
known disappointment and sorrow, had measured 
the ingratitude of mankind, had been confronted 
by some of the most serious problems of life, and 
had never failed in any of his duties. His was 
an heroic existence — as heroic as was his death — 
he had but few faults in him, and these were 
mostly of a kind which would have been called 
qualities in any one else. A dutiful son, an admi- 
rable husband and father, a faithful friend, a good 
man, there is no doubt that he would have made 
an excellent sovereign. 

His political abilities have been discussed. It 
is certain that he had not the proud conviction of 
the nobility of his mission which distinguished 

97 H 



MY RECOLLECTIONS 

his father, nor the briUiancy which characterises 
his son, but he had a rectitude of opinions and 
a sound common sense which would have carried 
him through any difficulty, public or private. 
Schooled into submission to circumstances by long 
years of weary waiting for a Crown which ulti- 
mately was only to be his for three months, and 
grateful by nature, it is certain he would never 
have dismissed Prince Bismarck, nor have at- 
tempted to rule in defiance of public opinion, as his 
impetuous son has so often done. He would have 
put his vast experience of pubHc affairs at the 
service, not only of his own country, but of the 
world in general. 

As regards his life it was in some respects a 
painful one. It is certain that at no time, even 
when he exercised the Regency, did he wield great 
influence on public affairs ; he was always sus- i 
pected by his father, and made use of by Bismarck 
when the latter found himself in want of a support 
against some opinion of the old Emperor's with 
which he did not agree. The diary of the Crown 
Prince during the Franco- German war, compared 
with the memoirs of Prince Bismarck, throws a 
curious Hght upon the use that was made of the 
former, by the real master of the German EmpireJ( 
one of whose greatest talents was the ability to 
discover the peculiarities of other people, and to! 
turn them to the profit of his own schemes. Thus,] 
during the long negotiations which preceded th( 
memorable day when the old palace of the kings 
of France was the scene of the greatest triumpl 

98 



A ROYAL TRAGEDY 

of their immemorial enemies, had it not been 
for the Crown Prince, it is doubtful whether the 
proclamation of the Empire could have taken 
place so easily as it did at last. In this eventful 
circumstance Frederick III. showed himself a wiser 
statesman than his father, perhaps because he had 
at the same time fewer prejudices than was the 
case with the first German Emperor. 

And yet he was, if possible, more imbued than 
his father with the sense of the inferiority of all 
other German princes in comparison with the 
supreme chief they had chosen for themselves. To 
illustrate my meaning I will relate a curious con- 
versation I had with the then Crown Prince, after 
the tragic death of King Louis of Bavaria. We 
met at the wedding breakfast of one of the 
greatest friends of the Crown Princess, Countess 
Schleinitz, with the late Austrian Ambassador in 
Paris, Count Wolkenstein. I was sitting during the 
meal next to the Prince, who had that very same 
morning returned from Munich, where he had 
represented his father at the funeral of the unfor- 
tunate king. Of course, the king's mysterious end 
was the subject of all conversations, and naturally 
enough it formed part of ours. By a strange 
coincidence, I had myself returned that same 
day fi'om Paris, where I had been on a visit 
to my aunts, and the Crown Prince asked 
me what was the impression produced in the 
French capital by the event. The conversation 
drifted then into another channel, and touched 
upon the foundation of the German Empire, when 

99 

LofC. 



MY RECOLLECTIONS 

the heir to the throne, in recapitulating the different 
facts which had made this restoration possible, 
spoke of what in his opinion ought to be the 
feelings of German princes towards the new 
organization which they had helped to build. He 
then used to me these remarkable words in French, 
which have ever since remained impressed upon 
my mind, and which struck me so much at the 
time that they were spoken, that I could not help 
mentioning them the very same day to a great 
friend I had, Colonel (now General) De Sancy, 
then French Military Attache in Berlin, who, if he 
ever reads this book, will surely remember them. 
What the Crown Prince said was ' Les princes 
allemands devraient toujours se souvenir qu'ils ne 
sont que les pairs de V empire — P-A-I-R-S, vous me 
comprenez ? ' and he spelled the word slowly, just as 
I have written it. The key to the whole character 
of the man may be found in this remark. 

I have said that Frederick HI. was at heart a 
Liberal, and had the most rehgious respect for 
Constitutional Government. Indeed, he carried 
this respect almost too far — too far, at least, for the 
heir to a throne whose principles were so essentially 
different from those which have helped to make 
the grandeur of the English monarchy. In that 
sense he was, perhaps, too much under the influence 
of his wife, though, on the other hand, the Princess 
would have been decidedly more popular, if she had 
not yielded as much as she did to certain opinions 
of her husband. In many cases the Princess was, 
I think, given credit for influencing her husband, 

100 



A MERCIFUL PRINCE 

when it was not true, as in one memorable in- 
stance, that of the execution of the would-be 
assassin of the old Emperor, young Hodel. At 
that time (the law has been modified since that day) 
it was imperative for the King of Prussia to sign 
personally every death warrant. William I. hated 
so much this part of his duties that no capital 
execution had ever taken place during his reign. 
When he was fired upon by Hodel, he declared 
at once his intention of pardoning the unfortunate 
wretch, but then took place the second, Nobihng's 
attempt, in which the aged monarch nearly lost his 
life. Whilst he lay on his sick bed, Hodel was 
tried, and, of course, sentenced to death. The 
Crown Prince was Regent. It was impossible for 
him to show himself merciful, especially in view of 
all that had been said regarding his relations with 
his father ; but though he never hesitated one 
moment to do what was his duty, his repugnance 
to the application of the death penalty, was so 
profound that he allowed the public to learn some- 
thing of it. Indeed, he went so far as to tell the 
British Ambassador, Lord Ampthill, who, with his 
wife, was among his greatest friends, that he had 
never felt more unhappy than on the day when, by 
a stroke of his pen, he had sent a human creature 
into eternity. The Crown Princess, though quite 
as kind as her husband, did not entirely share 
his opinions on that delicate point, as I happen 
to know. If she had sought to influence him at 
all, it would have been to overcome his scruples, 
but she did not; and as people in Berlin always 

101 



MY RECOLLECTIONS 

blamed her for everything they did not Uke in 
the Crown Prince, she was made responsible for 
the hesitation, if it could be called by that name, 
he had displayed, when confronted with one of the 
most painful duties of his high position. I was 
not in Berlin at the time of the illness and death 
of the Emperor Frederick, so can only speak of it 
by hearsay. I think it, therefore, better to abstain 
from relating what I have heard on that painful 
subject, and the differences which arose between 
the Empress and her eldest son, the present 
monarch. It is certain there were misunderstand- 
ings, as usual in such cases, rendered unnecessarily 
bitter by the interference of third parties. It is- 
also certain that painful scenes followed upon the 
passing away of the unfortunate sovereign, but I 
do not think it wise to bring back to public 
remembrance events which ought to be forgotten, 
and actions which certainly are to-day the object of 
regret to those who were led into their performance. 
The Emperor Frederick always treated me with 
the greatest kindness. I hope he guessed what 
profound admiration I had for his noble qualities, 
and how deeply I was devoted to him. There are 
moments in life when sympathy expressed in the 
way noble hearts alone can express it, helps one to 
bear the most bitter sorrows, and robs them of a 
part of their acuteness. The Crown Prince knew 
how to show sympathy; he found the words ta 
say in every circumstance, he understood that great 
art of helping struggling souls. Thus at the 
time of the first grief that made me realise thCj 

102 



LAST MOMENTS OF THE EMPEROR 

meaning of human life, when my eldest and then 
only child was suddenly taken away from me, it 
was the Crown Prince who, first of all those who 
had crowded around me, with banal expressions 
of a sympathy which was spoken but not felt, made 
me realise that I was not alone to grieve, and that 
there were in the world hearts who, having gone 
through the same agony I was enduring, could 
understand my own, and by their example encourage 
me to bear it in my turn. Now, after so many 
years, and after I have discovered that there are 
far more cruel ways to lose one's dear ones than 
by death, I still remember with gratitude the 
words spoken by the dead Emperor, and hear his 
voice ringing in my ears, when he told me not to 
grieve as grieve those who have no hope. 

When Frederick III. had reached the last 
stage of his terrible illness, my own father was 
dying, and expired a few weeks before the Em- 
peror. Family circumstances arose which made 
my husband ask for Russian naturalisation ; he 
went to Berlin in regard to certain formalities 
connected with that affair, and the monarch, who 
himself was struggling with that dreaded reaper 
who appears at every door to claim his victims, 
sent for him for a last good-bye. He could 
not speak, but he wrote in pencil a message for 
me, which I shall always treasure as one of my 
dearest remembrances. It was a farewell which I 
may be excused, perhaps, if I consider in the light 
of a blessing. 

Having said as much, I must hesitate before 
103 



MY RECOLLECTIONS 

attempting to describe the Crown Princess. Speak- 
ing of her, touches on one of these subjects which it 
seems sacrilegious to tackle. On the morrow which 
followed upon her death, I retraced in a few short 
pages all she was to me, all I have ever found her. 
I do not think I can add anything to this sketch, 
written whilst still smarting under the sorrow with 
which my heart was almost breaking. The Em- 
press was something more than a woman, she was 
as far above humanity as goodness is above wicked- 
ness, virtue superior to vice. Retrace her suffer- 
ings, relate what she had to endure, drag out of 
the cases of my memory, where they are enshrined, 
the story of all she went through, is almost im- 
possible ; it would be profanation. I cannot speak 
of the Empress Frederick, the remembrance of her 
moves in me a thousand emotions which I believed 
dead and buried for ever. It is impossible, I repeat 
it, to write the history of that noble life, and 
anything one might say about it, would only give 
a false idea of that ' perfect woman, nobly planned,' 
who was never understood, never appreciated, and 
who died as she had lived, solitary and alone among 
her children, and among the gay world, far above 
all those who surrounded her, and to whom she 
was a silent, an involuntary rebuke. 

I will therefore only relate incidents connected 
with her official existence, as they occur to me, 
whilst going on with the story of these years during 
which she played such a prominent part in the 
world. They may perhaps help those who never 
saw her, to understand certain sides of her magnifi- 

104 



I 



THE EMPRESS FREDERICK 

cent character ; but they will never describe her as 
she deserves to be described, a Queen who, in spite 
of her great position, did not forget she was a 
woman, gifted with a woman's tenderness, a 
woman's charm, a woman's warm heart. I do 
not feel even worthy to pray for her ; 1 hope she 
prays for me in that Heaven of which she must 
be one of the brightest stars. 



105 



CHAPTER VI. 

Prince Bismarck and the KuUurTcampf — ' Politique enjupons'^ 

— The Chancellor under- estimates the Folly of his Opponents 

— TTie Radzimill Palace as the Centre of Catholic In- 
trigue — Archbishop LedochowsMs Imprisonment — The 
Catholic Leaders^ Mallinkrodt and Windthorst — Bismarck'' s 
Attitude towards the Crown Prince — and towards the 
Emperor — The Character of Princess Bismarck — Count 
Herbert — How the Iron Chancellor won his Way. 

At the time of my marriage Prince Bismarck 
was still to be occasionally met with in society, or 
at some great Court function. He had not yet 
developed into the hermit of Varzin or Friedrichs- 
ruhe, and his tall, commanding figure could be 
seen in the drawing-rooms of the Empress or of 
the Crown Princess. It was at the latter's that 
I was introduced to him, a month or two after I 
arrived in Berlin. He was most gracious to me, 
as was his wife, for whom, let me say it at 
once, I always had the greatest respect, and with 
whom my relations always remained excellent 
ones. 

In these early days of 1874, the Kulturkampf 
was in full swing, and I was in the very thick 
of the fight that was going on. My husband's 
family was at the head of the Catholic party 
in Prussia, and their house constituted the centre 
of opposition to the Chancellor. He knew it, and 

106 



COURT INTRIGUES 

in this war, which lasted until the dismissal of 
Prince Bismarck by the present Emperor, he 
certainly did not use ' white gloves,' or spare his 
antagonists in any way. He was doubly irritated 
against my sister-in-law, because of her relation^ 
ship with the French Ambassador, Vicomte de 
Gontaut Biron, who was also one of the 
Empress's favourites, and whom he accused of 
French intrigues. I must say that the accusation 
was not unjustified, for certainly many things 
took place which would have taxed the patience 
of a man far less irritable than was the Chan^ 
cellor. Later on the Emperor put an end to 
this politique en jupons, to use Prince Bismarck's 
own expression ; but at the time I am speaking 
of, it flourished to an extent which would never 
have been tolerated in any other country. Gossip 
was rampant, and the old King was worried out 
of his life by his wife, and the numerous attempts 
she made to induce him to compel his Minister to 
desist from a hue of conduct which, as she pro- 
phesied, was bound to result in ruin to the State. 
At first the Prince did not attach much importance 
to these intrigues, but later on he grew to con- 
sider them in a far more serious light than they 
deserved, especially when the religious situation 
became more acute, and the opposition in the 
Reichstag more troublesome. It was then that he 
developed that tjrrannical disposition with which he 
will be associated in the minds of posterity, and which 
was artificially fed in him by his friends and foes 
alike. He grew sullen, morose, impatient of con- 

107 



MY RECOLLECTIONS 

tradictions, and isolated himself more and more 
from the world. The faults which in some cases 
made him unbearable, were caused largely by the 
solitude in which he had elected to live. Sur- 
rounded by flatterers, he grew impatient of criti- 
cisms, and far too much convinced of the infallibility 
of his own judgments. 

He was vindictive to a degree which bordered 
on ferocity ; his conduct towards Count Arnim 
was altogether unpardonable, for, as is well known 
to those who were behind the scenes, politics had 
very little to do with it. The prosecution was 
instituted simply because the Prince was determined 
to gratify his revenge against a man who, after 
having been for many years his tool, refused, at last, 
to carry out the work he was ordered to perform, 
^nd also against one in whom he feared he might 
one day find a rival. 

To come back to the Kulturkampf, I am going 
to say what will astonish many people, and that 
is, that I do not believe it would have reached the 
acuteness it did in time acquire, if the bishops had 
not been encouraged in their resistance by the 
members of the Catholic party at Court. A 
wrong idea as to the strength and importance of 
this party existed abroad, dating from the time 
when Prussia was a small kingdom. Then, when it 
was trying to recover from its wounds after the 
humiHations of Jena, its sovereign never aspired to 
play a large part in European politics, but was con- 
tent to lead the semi-intellectual, semi-official life 
which to this day is being led at the smaller 

108 



BISMARCK AND THE REICHSTAG 

German Courts, and allowed the opinions of his 
familiars to weigh in even the weightiest matters 
of the State. 

The victories of 1866 and 1870 came so unex- 
pectedly, and in such rapid succession, that people 
hardly realised their importance, or understood 
that after his return to Berlin as German Emperor, 
William I. could not look at things any more in the 
same light as he used to do when he was simply 
King of Prussia. Bismarck understood, of course, 
the change at once, and, perhaps, even before it 
actually took place, and the old King was dimly 
conscious of it too. No one among his entourage 
was. They imagined that a Court intrigue could 
rid them of the powerful man to whom Germany 
owed her reconstitution, and that a few words 
from the Queen, or an appeal to the humanitarian 
feelings of the Emperor, would finally block 
Prince Bismarck's path. This stupidity only ex- 
asperated him, and justified in his eyes a line 
of conduct destined to prevent the feeble adver- 
saries with whom he had to deal from having 
anything to say in regard to the conduct of the 
affairs of the State. He knew very well that 
the Reichstag was not sufficiently united to 
organize a serious opposition to his plans, that in 
the Prussian Chambers his authority would always 
remain paramount, and he befieved that a very 
short time would see the end of the struggle in 
which he was engaged. Unfortunately for him- 
self, he did not sufficiently appreciate the strength 
of the Catholic party and its Church. He forgot 

109 



MY RECOLLECTIONS 

that Pius IX. could not live for ever, and that 
if he were succeeded by a Pope not afflicted with 
his determination to oppose a non possumus to every 
effort at conciliation, not drawn on the lines he 
wished, his (the Chancellor's) position would be- 
come impossible. He would, whether he liked 
it or not, have to surrender, not to those whom 
he had fought, but to the principle which they 
represented. He looked upon the struggle he 
provoked with the glance of a statesman who for- 
gets that the events of the world are not solely 
and entirely led by politics, but that sometimes 
personal intrigues of the lowest kind influence 
them. 

I was but a child in 1874, considered as such 
by all my family. Later on I am sure that they 
would never have discussed certain things so freely 
before me as they did then. But in these early 
days they all believed they could mould me 
according to their own ideas. Unfortunately, I 
had been brought up in the intellectual atmos- 
phere of the Hotel Balzac, and by a father possessed 
of all the philosophical principles of the eighteenth 
century. I had been taught to consider the in- 
fluence of the clergy in private life, as well as 
in pontics, as an evil which ought to be fought 
against with energy. 

My father in all his letters constantly en- 
couraged me to resist all efforts to tempt me 
into the ranks of those who put the Church before 
every other consideration. I therefore listened to 
-all I heard without sympathy, but with great atten- 

110 



BISMARCK AND THE VATICAN 

tion. I regret now that I was not old enough at 
that time to form opinions of my own as to the 
value of the struggle that was going on ; but at 
seventeen one only sees things, it is impossible to 
appreciate them as they ought to be. What I re- 
member most clearly from these years is that con- 
stant communications were exchanged between my 
husband's family and the Archbishop of Posen, 
Count (afterwards Cardinal) Ledochowski. I do not 
think he himself had any illusions as to the issue 
of the war declared by Prince Bismarck against 
the Catholic Church, but he was influenced by 
the great position of the Radziwills, and believed 
they could, through their influence over the 
King, obtain from him certain concessions which 
the Chancellor would never have dreamed of 
making. 

The whole Kulturkampf reposed on this mis- 
understanding, which Bismarck, with all his genius 
and acuteness, had not foreseen, because he would 
not admit that serious people like the Archbishops 
of Posen and Cologne could believe the assurances 
of men who had nothing to do with the conduct 
of State aflairs, that they were in a position to 
influence the sovereign in opposition to himself. 
Yet it was the case ; and I am fully convinced 
that if the Radziwill Palace had not existed, 
the famous journey to Canossa, which Bismarck 
undertook so many years later, would never have 
taken place ; or at least would have been under- 
taken differently. I remember well the day when 
the news of the arrest of Mgr. Ledochowski 

111 



MY RECOLLECTIONS 

reached us. It was in February, a dull, bleaks 
winter morning ; I had gone downstairs to see 
the wife of one of my brother's cousins, Princess 
Ferdinand Radziwill, the mother of that Prince 
Radziwill, attache to the Russian Embassy in Lon- 
don, whose wife, the lovely Mile, de Benardaky, 
made such a sensation by her beauty a year or 
two ago. I found her with an open telegram in 
her hand containing the news that the Archbishop 
had been arrested the night before. Both she and 
her husband were terribly excited, and convinced 
that the event was destined to have the greatest 
political consequences. My cousin was a member 
of the Reichstag, and his brother, Prince Edmund 
Radziwill — then already in holy orders, and vicar 
of the little town of Ostrowo, in Prussian Poland, 
the same one in which the Archbishop was con- 
fined — obtained the Government's permission to 
share the prelate's captivity. He was a keen 
politician, and both in private life as well as in 
his capacity of member of the Reichstag, took a 
leading part in the struggle. He was by far the 
most able man of the whole family, and a perfect 
saint as regards character. But he was prejudiced, 
as they all were, and as it was impossible for any 
one, brought up as my father-in-law had brought 
up his sons and nephews, not to be. 

When Count Ledochowski was thrown into 
prison the general feeling in governmental circles 
was, that it would put an end to all attempt at 
resistance on the part of the Catholics; whilst 
they thought that it would work the Chancellor's 

112 



A POLICY OF COERCION 

defeat in his designs. Neither of these fore- 
bodings turned out to be true. The time had 
gone by for martyrs to be taken au s&ieua^, and 
it had not yet come for the Church of Rome 
to renounce the fighting quaHties which have 
always distinguished it. The result of this mis- 
taken impression on both sides was an unsettled 
condition of things which, even when it was for- 
gotten by the outside world, exasperated the 
Chancellor into making him exaggerate the dan- 
gers of a situation he had contrived to create, 
through not having realised the evil which stupid 
men may make in the world. 

In spite of all the rigour of the Archbishop's 
captivity, communications were constant between 
him and the leaders of the CathoHc party. They 
mostly passed through my cousins, but other 
people were also eager to act as his emissaries. 
He himself made up his mind most courageously 
to accept the consequences of a situation he had 
falsely judged. He determined, once he was in 
prison, to stay there; which was certainly the 
best thing he could have done under the circum- 
stances. 

I never saw Count Ledochowski at that time. 
Years later I met him in Rome, when he was 
already Cardinal and Prefect of the Congregation 
for the Propagation of the Faith. He gave a 
most warm welcome to my husband and myself, 
and several interviews we had with him left me 
in profound admiration of his great qualities, as 
well as of the strength of his intellect. They 

118 I 



MY RECOLLECTIONS 

made me wonder, more than I had ever done 
before, how he could have been led into believing 
that people, not even possessed of an average 
intelligence, could, simply through their social 
position in the world, be mighty enough to fight 
with success the greatest statesman of modern 
times. 

In 1874 the Catholic party in the Reichstag 
possessed one member whose eloquence made him 
a great power : it was Dr. MaUinkrodt, one of 
the ablest speakers in the House, and the only 
person in all the Centre possessed of a clear 
appreciation of the new system of politics in- 
augurated by the foundation of the German 
Empire. He was a man of sincere convictions, not 
subordinated to considerations of sympathy or 
of dynasty, as was the case with Dr. Windthorst. 
Unfortunately, he died relatively young, in the 
full force of his political powers, and just as his 
great reputation was beginning to be universally 
acknowledged. When he passed away, no one 
remained except Dr. Windthorst, who brought 
his Hanoverian sympathies to bear upon every 
question with which he was concerned, and whose 
great, though unacknowledged ambition, was to 
get one day a portfolio in the Prussian Ministry. 
He was a marvellous tactician, a speaker without 
rival, and a consummate leader. Through him 
the Centre party became a disciplined thing which 
could almost be compared to the German army. 
He drilled it into absolute obedience to his orders, 
and never allowed hesitation or a personal scruple 

114 



BISMARCK AT RADZIWILL PALACE 

to interfere with his plans. It is to be for ever 
regretted that his reconciliation was not effected 
with the Chancellor, and that a rapprochement 
between the two men only took place when 
Prince Bismarck's days as a Minister were already 
numbered. 

Personally I never took any part in the re- 
ligious quarrels which divided our family and 
Prince Bismarck. Even at the time when they 
had reached their most acute stage, I continued 
visiting once or twice a year at the Chancellor's 
house, and I remember that, just after the 
Radziwill Palace had been bought by the Govern- 
ment, and the Prince had taken up his residence 
there, I called one morning on the Princess, and 
found them still sitting at a late lunch. Both 
she and the Prince took me over the whole 
house, and he made a few joking remarks at the 
pleasure I must have felt when I left it. Much 
later, after the Congress at Berlin, I started on 
my own account a salon of opposition to the 
Chancellor, but the religious question had nothing 
to do with it, and the reasons for my conduct 
proceeded simply from Russian resentment at his 
behaviour in 1878, as well as from my admiration 
for the Crown Prince and Princess, with whom 
he was at that time at daggers drawn, and also 
a little from my French sympathies. It was 
curious to watch the Prince on the rare occasions 
when he was present at any Court festivity. He 
always stood in a corner of the room, almost 
alone, and dominating with the head and 

115 



MY RECOLLECTIONS 

shoulders all the other men present. One occa- 
sion remains particularly engraved upon my mind. 
It was at the Crown Prince's, after one of the 
quarrels between the heir to the throne and 
the Minister had been patched up by some kind 
friends. The party was given for the birthday 
of the Crown Princess, and great was our sur- 
prise when, upon entering the apartment where 
the company assembled, we saw the Chancellor. 
I do not think I exaggerate when I say that 
everybody strained their heads and their necks to 
see what was going to happen. The doors were 
thrown open, and the Royal host and hostess 
made their appearance. The Princess began 
speaking to the ladies, then very quietly went 
up to Prince Bismarck. I could not hear what 
she said, but she talked with him for a certain 
length of time, without affectation of an exagge- 
rated amiability, but also without any marked 
coldness or stiffness. Master of himself, as the 
Chancellor generally was, he seemed embarrassed, 
and was evidently ill at ease. He stooped down 
to reply to the Princess's remarks, and nervously 
played with his long military glove. As soon as 
she had left him, the Crown Prince approached 
him, and then came the marvellous change which 
must have struck any person gifted with the 
slightest degree of observation. Bismarck straight- 
ened himself up, every trace of annoyance or 
embarrassment disappeared, he looked the heir 
to the throne straight in the face, or across the 
head as the case might be. The arrogance of his 

116 



A NEW YEAR'S RECEPTION 

demeanour was not only marked, but exaggerated ; 
he scarcely replied to the Prince, and made him 
repeat one or two remarks. In one word he 
affected the attitude of being the real master of 
his future master. The scene would have de- 
served a St. Simon to describe it. 

Another occasion when I saw Prince Bismarck 
was on a New Year's Day when we had assembled 
to congratulate the Emperor and Empress. It 
was only the members of princely families who 
were admitted to that privilege, so that the com- 
pany was necessarily small. The Chancellor 
rarely put in an appearance, being mostly at that 
season of the year at Varzin. This time, how- 
ever, he happened to be in town, and, much 
to every one's astonishment, he came to the 
palace. When the doors were opened, and the 
Kaiser perceived him, he at once crossed over to 
him, and the two began an animated conversation. 
It was almost touching to watch the great Chan- 
cellor speaking to the old sovereign ; the respect 
in his countenance and the expression of his eyes 
had something peculiar I never remember having 
seen in them before or after that day. Beside 
him the Emperor appeared a shrunken little old 
man, with tottering steps, leaning on a stick (it 
was the year after Nobiling's attempt when he had 
hardly yet recovered), whilst gigantic in his white 
Cuirassier uniform, resembUng a knight of ancient 
times, the figure of the Iron Chancellor towered 
above him, as it towered above the Empire he had 
created out of the ruins of old. The spectacle 

117 



MY RECOLLECTIONS 

was impressive, and I believe everybody present 
was struck with the grandeur of it, but I doubt if 
many observed what to me was its most curious part, 
the homage Bismarck's eyes paid to the sovereign, 
without whom he never could have become the 
great man he had risen to be, whom in his inmost 
soul he respected as much as he loved, and to 
whom he had given all the admiration, all the 
affection, his stern heart was capable of feeling. 

Few people have realised that peculiarity of Bis- 
marck's nature. He was essentially affectionate ; a 
more devoted husband or father never existed. His 
correspondence with his wife has revealed to us the 
domestic side of his character. He was a man 
made for home-life, liking it, finding in it — in the 
tenderness of his wife and children — a solace amid 
the cares of the State, and the stupendous responsi- 
bilities which lay upon his shoulders. He was a 
good fi'iend, he never forsook those whom he liked. 
If at times his contempt for humanity made itself 
apparent in brutalities as great as was his genius, 
he never lost the real kindness nor the genuineness 
of his feelings. His experiences of life and man- 
kind had been numerous, curious, and bitter, but 
the freshness of certain impressions had remained, 
as well as love for those to whom ties of relation- 
ship or friendship united him. In the midst of the 
most serious affairs of the State, he never forgot to 
inquire after his grandchildren, and a small ailment 
of the Uttle mites made him more unhappy than 
when one of his most complicated political plans 
had failed. 

118 



PRINCESS BISMARCK 

It would be hardly possible to imagine a more 
happy life than the one he led with his wife. 
Even the religious question, upon which their 
opinions were entirely different, did not ruffle the 
harmony between him and the Princess. She was, 
in her way, just as remarkable a personality as her 
husband. Not at all a woman of the world, not 
brilliant, she had that strong dose of intelligence 
and common-sense which goes so far to ensure 
success ; devoted to the Prince, she knew how to 
efface herself when it was necessary, and never left 
off watchmg over him with the tenderness of 
one who puts the beloved person before all personal 
ambitions. For her, he was perfection, the one 
being upon earth, the sole object of her care. 
During the long years their union lasted, they 
never had an altercation or even difference, and it is 
to be doubted whether the Prince would have 
achieved aU he did, if he had not found in his 
home the necessary encouragement, and above 
all that affection which, like faith, moves moun- 
tains. 

In spite of all this, and perhaps because of all 
this, it must be nevertheless acknowledged that 
occasions arose when Princess Bismarck harmed 
her husband. She had certain German prejudices 
which he did not share, but which, in consequence 
of remarks she made at times, were attributed to 
him also. She hated everything that was French, 
and to use Max O'Rell's expression, firmly be- 
lieved, 'that the devil at an early stage of his 

119 



MY RECOLLECTIONS 

career was naturalised a Frenchman, and settled 
permanently in Paris.' For her everything French 
was an abomination, and she rejoiced at the suc- 
cesses of the German armies in the same way 
as the Jews rejoiced at the slaying of the 
Philistines. In her eyes there was nothing good 
in France, and it was quite sincerely she prayed 
God to watch over her husband, and not lead 
him into temptation when he was in Paris. It 
was the same in several other things ; she was 
narrow-minded, did not understand the greatness 
of the deeds the man to whom she was united 
had performed, but at the same time, she was 
fully conscious he was a great man. The gravest 
matters appeared in her eyes to be important 
only in so far as they were personal to him, or 
associated with his name; she was the wife of 
Prince Bismarck, not the consort of the German 
Chancellor. 

But she was good, kind, charitable, a devoted 
mother, a careful mistress of her household. She 
was generally respected, and even the smart set 
did not turn into ridicule her extraordinary dresses, 
or simple manners. Her character was sincere, her 
love of truth remarkable, her piety proceeded from 
her heart, and had no affectation in it. She made 
her husband a better wife than, perhaps, any 
woman would have done who understood better 
the public side of his character. She was to him 
the slippers and dressing-gown, without which 
even a genius cannot live comfortably. 

120 



BISMARCK'S CHILDREN 

Of their three children there is Httle to say. 
The youngest son, Count Wilham, has already 
followed his parents to the grave. Prince Herbert 
has turned into a country gentleman, and will 
probably never reappear upon the political scene. 
He was an example of how rarely great men beget 
children who resemble them. He was not popular 
in the personal sense, and seemed to think that as 
the son of the imperious Chancellor, he was a 
privileged person. It is to be hoped that all 
that has since happened in the political world has 
softened his character, and brought to light the 
qualities which, in spite of his detractors, he, as a 
son of the greatest genius of modern times, can 
scarcely fail to possess. Prince Bismarck's daughter, 
married to Count Rantzau, is the only member of 
his family who has inherited his extraordinary intel- 
ligence ; she was a great help to him during the 
last years of his life, and, after Princess Bismarck's 
death, tried as well as she could to replace her. 
It is said she could not bring herself to be polite 
to William II. when, after his official reconciliation 
with the Chancellor, he visited Friedrichsruhe. I 
do not know how far this report is true, but 
from what I have seen of the Countess, I think 
it may be correct. I believe no one in the Prince's 
family has forgiven the Emperor, and strange as 
it may seem to say so, it was perhaps the old giant 
whom he crushed so ruthlessly, who best understood 
his conduct, and in his inmost heart found excuses 
for him. 

I must, before I end this chapter, relate an: 
121 



MY RECOLLECTIONS 

incident which will show in what way Prince 
Bismarck made war upon those he disliked. 

He would not have dared to attack openly my 
husband's family, unless he had had positive proofs 
which he could have laid before the Kaiser of their 
intrigues. These, of course, it was next to impossible 
to get. He therefore hit upon the following ex- 
pedient. My brother-in-law had a secretary, called 
M. von Kehler, a former clerk in the Foreign 
Office. He had been a Protestant, was converted 
to the Roman Catholic faith, and like all converts, 
became a fanatic, which fact did not prevent him 
from being a very pleasant and amiable man. 
He was treated as a friend of the family, was in 
general highly respected, and an influential member 
of the Reichstag. In May or June, 1874, my 
brother-in-law was at Ems with the Emperor, 
most of the family were away from town, and we were 
about five or six people left in the immense old 
house. We were startled one day, on going down 
to dinner, by a visit from the police with orders to 
search the papers of M. von Kehler, in the room 
he occupied in the Radziwill Palace, a room in 
which he did not live, but which he only used 
as a worki'oom. My husband's cousins loudly 
protested, but the orders were formal ; the police 
took possession of the room, and under pretence 
of looking into M. von Kehler 's drawers, examined 
every paper belonging to my brother-in-law or 
cousins. I never knew the end of the story, nor 
whether anything was found ; but I much doubt 
it, as the greatest precautions were always ob- 

122 



BISMARCK'S METHODS 

served as regards documents. I do not know 
whether any complaint of this unwarrantable 
interference ever reached the Emperor's ears ; but 
the incident throws a curious hght on the ways 
in which Prince Bismarck managed to do what 
he wished, and get what he hked. 



123 



CHAPTER VII. 

The Princess Victorians Influence on Berlin Society — Lord 
AmpthUl — The other Ambassadors — The Princess ofWales^ 
— A Story of the Russian Empress's Visit to Eng- 
land — Court Entertainments — Outbreak of the Russo- 
Turhish War — Skobeleff and Osman Pasha — An Inci- 
dent of the Shipka Pass — The Treaty of San Stefano. 

Berlin Society, at the time I am speaking of, 
was very exclusive. With the exception of the 
Crown Princess, no one ever dreamed of admitting 
into * society,' people belonging to the middle classes. 
Artists, journaUsts, literary men, or professors at the 
University, were rather looked upon as curiosities, 
when not as necessary evils. The Princess Victoria 
was the first to give them equality of treat- 
ment with the narrow circle of what were called 
HofFahige people. At the small tea-parties given 
at the Palace, men like Mommsen, Dubois Ray- 
mond, Helmholtz, Ranke, the historian, Rudolph 
and Paul Lindau, the journaUsts, were met. Her 
great intelligence enabled her to discuss with them 
the studies which had made their names famous ; 
and often, without knowing it, she helped to 
educate Berlin society, by speaking with freedom 
on topics considered — until she brought them into 
prominence — as the exclusive possession of those 

124 



LORD ODO RUSSELL 

who had devoted their lives to the mastering of 
them. 

The Empress, though she often made a point 
of encouraging science, hterature, and art, did it 
in a way which accentuated the distance which 
separated its representatives from the select circle 
out of which she chose her intimate friends. 
BerUn society was not amusing, though amuse- 
ments were perpetually going on ; but it was 
hospitable, and it differed in that, at least as regards 
foreigners, from St. Petersburg in its present days. 
Diplomats were made much of, and foremost 
among them ranked the British Ambassador, Lord 
Ampthill, at that time known as Lord Odo 
Russell. I do not think that any one who has 
known that most charming and clever man 
has forgotten him, nor the tact, the intelligence, and 
the consummate political ability which made him 
such a distinguished statesman. He succeeded in 
remaining on good terms with Prince Bismarck, as 
well as the friend — I think I can almost say the 
intimate friend — of the Crown Prince and Princess. 
His knowledge of the world was marvellous, his 
experience of affairs quite extraordinary. He 
knew unerringly the right thing to be done, and 
never found himself embarrassed, no matter in 
what situation he happened to be. Married to a 
daughter of the late Lord Clarendon, he found in 
her a true helpmate, and one in every respect 
worthy of him. They entertained most hospitably, 
and no diplomats before or after them, have ever 

125 



MY RECOLLECTIONS 

succeeded in establishing themselves in the same 
position they had acquired in society. I cannot 
help thinking that had Lord Ampthill been alive 
in 1888, many events which accompanied the illness 
and death of the Emperor Frederick, would never 
have taken place. 

The Austrian Ambassador was Count Karolyi, 
whose wife, the lovely Countess Fanny Karolyi, was 
so much admired in London, and has left such a 
charming remembrance in the minds of all those 
who saw her. She also was fond of entertaining, 
and during the Congress of 1878 her house was the 
meeting-place of all the notabiUties that crowded 
in Berlin at that important time. 

The Russian Ambassador was Baron d'Oubril, 
a pleasant httle man, but one who, after the tragic 
death of his wife (she was drowned whilst bathing) 
was seen but little in society. Italy had not yet 
raised her legation to the rank of Embassy, and of 
the other members of the Corps Diplomatique 
there is very little to say, with the exception of the 
two French Ambassadors, the Vicomte de Gontaut 
Biron and the Comte de St. Vallier. 

The fii'st named of these personages had been the 
first representative appointed by the Republic after 
the Treaty of Frankfurt. He belonged to one of 
the oldest and proudest families of the ancien regime, 
and being a very pleasant, shrewd man, without 
being a first-rank statesman, he had managed, with 
the help of considerable tact, to make for himself a 
good position in the Prussian capital. He was 

126 



AN ABLE DIPLOMAT 

related to my sister-in-law, as well as to the old 
Duke of Sagan, the son of the beautiful Duchess of 
Sagan, whose numerous love adventures, as well as 
her long liaison with her uncle, the famous Prince 
de Talleyrand, have made so well known. These 
alliances helped M. de Gontaut to make his way 
at first, but later on they became a source 
of serious embarrassment, which led to his retire- 
ment into private life. Through them he was 
furnished with much untrustworthy information. 
Prince Bismarck never forgave him the scare of 
1875, nor certain reports he had made to the 
Duke Decazes, at that time Minister for Foreign 
Affairs, which were not founded on facts, but on 
conversations with people who had no means of 
guessing the designs of the Chancellor. M. de 
Gontaut was replaced by the Comte de St. Vallier, 
one of the ablest diplomats France has ever 
possessed. He was one of the greatest friends 
I have ever had, so it is difficult for me to 
speak of him without indulging in terms which 
might, perhaps, appear exaggerated to the reader. 
We had become mutually attracted from the first 
days of his arrival in Berlin, and later on, when 
his father and mother, the Marquis and Marquise 
de St. Vallier, joined him in Berlin, I used to see 
them daily, and up to the death of the old Marquis, 
which occurred a few years after that of his son, I 
went every autumn to spend a few days with him, 
at his chateau in the department of Aisne, near 
Laon. It was called Coucy les Eppes, and was a 

127 



MY RECOLLECTIONS 

large country house such as one only meets in 
France, with an old-fashioned garden, and a 
churchyard, which formed almost part of the 
house. 

Apart from diplomats, what one called the 
princely families occupied a special place in Berlin 
society. Among them the Duke and Duchess of 
Sagan were certainly the leaders. Born a French- 
woman, she was the daughter of the Marshal de 
Castellane ; he was a perfect type of the grand 
seigneur of Louis XIV., she was one of the cleverest, 
wittiest women of the second Empire. Every one 
liked her, even those whom she scratched with her 
tongue, always sharp even when it was kind, and 
no one took in bad part anything she said, perhaps 
because all were more or less conscious of the vast 
amount of honesty and genuineness, which were 
her principal characteristics. 

Of other prominent members of Berlin society 
there were Count and Countess Stolberg. He 
became in later years Vice- Chancellor ; she was a 
Princess Reuss, and a most amiable woman. Then 
there were the numerous Hohenlohes and Ratibors ; 
Prince and Princess Pless, whose lovely house was 
an object of admiration. The Princess also 
belonged to the superior beings of this world, and, 
as such so often do, died at a comparatively early 
age. Then there was lovely Princess Carolath, 
whose beauty broke many hearts, and who in 
her turn was to fall a victim to her love for 
Count Herbert Bismarck. Indeed, Berlin was 

128 



THE FRENCH EMBASSY 

full of pretty women, and I doubt whether any 
Court could have boasted of so many beautiful 
faces as it did at the time I am writing 
of. 

The first winter I spent there was very animated 
indeed, after the mourning for the Dowager Queen 
was over. At Court there were no balls, it is 
true, but a great concert took place at which the 
Crown Princess, just back from Russia, where she 
had been present at the wedding of the Duke of 
Edinburgh, spoke to me of her impressions of 
the ceremony, and showed me a beautiful ruby 
bracelet she wore on her arm, adding that it had 
been given to her by the Emperor Alexander. 

It was about that time that the French Am- 
bassador gave the only ball I have been present 
at at the French Embassy. It was made a great 
event of, as it was the first festivity given there 
since 1870. The Emperor and the whole Court 
were present, and people were lavish in their 
attentions to M. de Gontaut, who must have had 
every reason to be satisfied. He was justified in 
writing to the Duke Decazes that he had serious 
hopes that the bitter feelings which still existed 
between German and French society would in 
time be allayed. 

I have spoken already of the Duke Decazes ; 
he had married a niece of my father's, Mile, de 
Lowenthal, and there was a time when I saw a 
great deal of his wife. He has never himself been 
sufficiently appreciated, and a life of him has to 

129 K 



MY RECOLLECTIONS 

be written yet. It would throw a curious light 
on certain sides of the Frankfurt treaty, about 
which he possessed a quantity of secret infor- 
mation. It would also explain how it happened 
that the Government of Marshal MacMahon con- 
trived to maintain itself for such a long time in 
spite of his own monarchical leanings, and the 
preponderance of the legitimistic element in all 
his Cabinets, with the exception perhaps of the 
one presided over by M. Jules Simon. The Duke 
Decazes left a son, as inheritor of his name, who 
became the husband of an American, Miss Singer, 
who died tragically and suddenly at the early age 
of twenty-five years. 

The Duke of Edinburgh was married to the 
Grand Duchess Marie Alexandrowna of Russia, 
at St. Petersburg, in January of that same year, 
1874. On their return from the wedding festivi- 
ties, the then Prince and Princess of Wales stopped 
for a few days in Berlin, and at a State dinner at 
the old Castle I saw for the first time the present 
Queen of England. I believe she had never yet 
appeared officially at the Prussian Court, for I 
remember the Empress Augusta presenting to 
her all the ladies that were present ; and every 
one was very anxious to catch a glimpse of her. 
When I look upon the Queen now at the Opera, 
or driving in the streets, it seems to me to be 
impossible that thirty years have gone by since 
that day. We have all changed, she alone has 
remained immovable in her loveliness, defying 

130 



THE CZAR IN BERLIN 

time and wrinkles in a way which is perfectly 
marvellous. 

A few days later, the newly married couple 
themselves arrived in Berlin on their way to 
England. The Duchess held a small reception 
of Russian ladies at the Embassy : so far as I can 
remember there were but three of us — Princess 
Biron of Courland (born Princess Mestchersky), 
Madame de Radowitz, nee OzerofF, wife of the 
present German Ambassador at Madrid, and my- 
self In the evening there was a State perform- 
ance at the Opera, where the young bride appeared 
blazing with diamonds and sapphires, and the next 
day the young couple took leave of the Royal 
family, on their way to their new home. 

A few months later saw Alexander II. himself 
arrive in Berlin, where he was given a warm 
welcome. In those days his visit was an annual 
event, as well as his cure at Ems, where, if one 
is to believe Court gossips, many interesting 
matters of politics were discussed between him 
and the Emperor William. 

My first child was born on December 7th, 
1874, and very soon after that event, I was one 
of the gay world again. The winter was one 
of the most brilliant which had been known at 
the Prussian Court, and entertainment followed 
upon entertaimnent. In February was given at 
the Crown Prince's palace that wonderful Venetian 
Fete, at which the Princess appeared in the dress 
of Leonora Gonzaga, in the celebrated picture 

131 



MY RECOLLECTIONS 

by Titian at the Pitti Palace at Florence. 
Angeli painted her subsequently in it, and nothing 
could have suited her better than this simple, but 
effective costume. The Queen and her sister. 
Princess Charles, both appeared in white dominoes 
at this ball, and we were all very much amused 
by the illusion under which they both laboured, 
that no one had recognised them. 

In June of the same year, my husband was 
sent to attend some manoeuvres at Warsaw, 
where the Emperor of Russia was holding them 
personally. I accompanied him there, and we 
went thence to pay a visit to my father. In 
AVarsaw, we were present at one of the most 
enjoyable entertainments of my whole life. It 
was the ball given to the sovereign by Count 
Kotzebue, the Governor- General of the Kingdom 
of Poland, in the old castle. I have never 
seen anything more fairy -like. The long ter- 
races stretched all along the banks of the river, 
ornamented with rare plants and orange-trees, 
the aspect of the illuminated town, the brilliant 
uniforms, lovely jewels and dresses, the beauty 
of the women, all contrived to make the scene 
like one of those of which one reads the 
description in the ' Arabian Nights.' It was at 
this memorable ball that the young Marchioness 
Wielopolska made her first and I think only ap- 
pearance at the Russian Court. Born an Austrian, 
a Princess Montenuovo, she was by her father a 
grand - daughter of the Empress Marie Louise. 

132 



WARSAW FESTIVITIES 

No one had ever understood why she married 
the Marquis, and happiness did not follow upon 
that union. She was beautiful, in spite of the 
Austrian lip which was rather prominent in her 
face, and one of the sweetest creatures that ever 
lived. Soon afterwards she died, after a long 
and somewhat mysterious illness, universally re- 
gretted. 

Another rather prominent figure at these 
Warsaw festivities, was the wife of Field-Marshal 
Bariatinski, the hero of the Caucasus. She was 
a Circassian Princess by birth, who had been 
carried off by force by the INIarshal, and had had 
adventures which smacked more of romance than 
of reality. At the time I saw her, she was quite 
an old woman, and had but few traces of her 
former beauty left, but she was made very much 
of at Court, by reason of her husband's great 
position. They inhabited a Royal residence near 
Warsaw, Skierniewice, which had been given by 
the Emperor to Prince Bariatinski for life, and 
where, later on, the famous interview took place 
between the three — the German, Austrian, and 
Russian — Emperors. 

About that time, the end of 1875, the first 
rumours of the Bosnian insurrection began to 
circulate. At first no one was inclined to attach 
much importance to them, but as time went on, 
the situation became more serious, and popular 
feeling in Russia ran very high on the subject. 
It is a mistake to say that the Government en- 

133 



MY RECOLLECTIONS 

couraged it from the first, whatever it did later 
on. No one wished for war, neither the Emperor, 
nor his counsellors, but in the country, and 
especially in certain circles in Moscow, the feehng 
that something ought to be done towards the 
relief of the Christian subjects of the Sultan 
became very strong indeed. Committees were 
formed, and subscriptions arrived freely from all 
kind of people. The merchant class of the old 
capital especially became very excited, and what 
would have been called anywhere else but in 
Russia incendiary speeches were made daily at 
private and public reunions. The leading papers 
of Moscow, at their head the Russ, edited by the 
great Slavophil leader, I wan AksokofF, never let a 
day pass without calling upon all Orthodox people 
to work for the deliverance from the Turkish 
yoke of their brethren in race and religion. No 
one at that time understood what kind of people 
the Bulgarians or Servians were, or realised 
their characters. They became martyrs before 
one even knew whether they had suffered. The 
movement was a purely artificial one, and yet it 
very soon was transformed into a national one, 
and never did the Holy Orthodox Church assert 
its influence more than at that time, when it 
; actually forced the hand of the autocratic Power 
which governed it. No effort of the Emperor 
availed, no official remonstrance could stop the 
movement, when once it was set in motion. All 
the exuberance of the Russian nation, which, after 

134 



i 



WAR IN THE NEAR EAST 

having been stirred up by the reforms of the be- 
ginning of the reign of Alexander II., had again 
relapsed into apathy, wakened up once more, 
and found an outlet in the feeling which threw 
half of the country into the arms of a few men 
who, by their mere word, had let out that torrent 
of enthusiasm. It became the fashion, when the 
Servian and Montenegrin revolt broke out, to 
send volunteers to join the insurgents, and men 
used to start in smaU bands, and in great secrecy, 
to offer them their help. My own brother was 
one of them, and when the battle of Alexinatz 
was fought, and lost by the Servians, St. Petersburg 
society, which had seen some of its best-known 
men fall, became quite frantic. Officers left their 
regiments in masses, until at last the Government 
was forced to forbid the gi-anting of all leave. 
But it was already too late. The harm had been 
done, and it is only to be regretted that the 
Emperor was induced about that time to mobilise 
his army. A little longer, and a good deal of 
the enthusiasm which had marked the first half 
of 1876 would have died away ; indeed, it did not 
last long among the officers who had joined the 
Servians, for they all of them came back, more 
or less disgusted with their cowardice and un- 
trustworthiness. A reaction began to make itself 
felt, which would inevitably have brought about 
the end of the movement had the declaration of war 
against Turkey not given a new impetus to feelings 
which were already beginning to be worn out. 

135 



MY RECOLLECTIONS 

In July or August, 1876, we were for a few 
days in Moscow, on our way to my estate on 
the Wolga. It was at the time when the Slavophil 
Committees were most energetic, and were work- 
ing with all their might in favour of what 
were called ' our little Slav brethren.' We hap- 
pened, quite accidentally, to visit the famous 
monastery of Troitsa, near Moscow ; the same 
place whence St. Serge had sent Dmitri Donskoi 
to fight the Tartars. That very same day 
had been chosen by the Slavophil Society of 
Moscow to send there to be blessed a flag which 
they were forwarding to the Servians. When we 
entered the principal church of the celebrated 
convent, we found it packed full with volunteers 
and an excited crowd. 

The Archimandrite came out, and, after 
having given Holy Communion to the volunteers, 
who, already in their uniform, were kneeling on 
the pavement of the church, he raised up the 
flag and blessed them with it. An immense accla- 
mation filled the whole of the vast building, an 
acclamation which could almost have been called 
a sob. Whatever happened later on, the people 
out of whose breast it burst were sincere, and had 
no afterthought mixing itself up with the feeling 
which made them empty their pockets, and give 
all their contents for the cause which they had at 
heart. In that moment of enthusiasm the whole 
soul of the Russian nation spoke out. There 
was no political or personal feeling dominating 

136 



SKOBELEFF BECOMES FAMOUS 

these weeping woman and resolute men. It was 
an outburst of religious conviction, equal to the 
one which, in the first days of the Crusade, threw 
half Europe at the feet of the monk who beckoned 
to it, to help him in rescuing the grave of Christ 
from the hands of the infidels who held it. 

A few months later war really burst out, a 
serious war, the importance of which was appre- 
ciated but by few, and one of the consequences of 
which was the murder of the unfortunate monarch 
who had not found the strength to resist the 
movement which brought it on. In April, 1877, 
the Russian troops crossed the Turkish frontier. 
W hat followed belongs to history. The Danube was 
crossed, Plevna was invested, and then came the 
dark days, the despairing hours, when hope seemed 
to have disappeared, and when blood flowed in 
torrents without any apparent result. The assault 
of September 11th still lives in the memory 
of those who witnessed its horrors and its furies. 
In one day over twenty thousand men fell, and 
Skobeleff became famous, and, stern soldier as he 
was, burst out crying, when he looked at the dread- 
ful battle-field covered with dead and wounded, 
exclaiming, as he did so, ' To think that all this 
has been in vain — all in vain ! ' When Plevna fell, 
the tension under which we had lived, was so 
intense, that I think we forgot to rejoice. Like 
all great expected events, it left one calm — 
perhaps because suffering had annihilated all 
sources of joy. 

137 



MY RECOLLECTIONS 

In the army a sullen feeling prevailed, ex- 
asperation against certain of its leaders, together 
with admiration for the bravery of Osman Pacha. 
When the old warrior, wounded and disabled, at 
last gave up his sword, the Grand Duke Nicholas 
went out to meet him, and, after greeting him 
with all the respect due to him, offered him the 
seat on the right in his carriage. Slowly they 
drove together down the lines of the Turkish 
prisoners, who received them in grave silence, but 
when they reached the Russian camps an immense 
acclamation burst out from the ranks. It was the 
victors saluting their enemy. Over the pale face 
of the Turkish hero, a faint and sad smile 
flitted for a moment ; he gravely greeted, in his 
turn, the troops whom he had so often defeated, 
before he found himself overwhelmed by their 
number, and by circumstances. 

Later on came the defence of Shipka, and 
the terrible battles which transformed the Balkans 
into one bloody field. There is an episode of the 
crossing of these mountains which is little known, 
and which deserves to be related. When General 
Raiewski made up his mind to attack Suleiman 
Pacha, on a winter morning, with the thermometer 
at about twenty -five degrees centigi-ade below 
freezing point and in the midst of a snowstorm 
such as had rarely been witnessed, even in these 
parts, the question arose how to make the artillery 
cross the mountain passes, rendered almost impass- 
able by the snow. Whilst it was being discussed, 

138 



THE STRUGGLE IN THE BALKANS 

the General was told that a deputation of soldiers 
wished to speak to him. He ordered them to be 
introduced, when their spokesman craved permission 
to be allowed to transport the big guns on the 
shoulders of their gunners. Astounded, the General 
at first demurred, when an old non-commissioned 
officer turned round, and said, ' Do not hinder us, 
little father ; we are going to the rescue of our 
brothers, and somehow we will get through.' ' And,' 
added Raiewski when he related the story himself 
to my father, ' they did get through.' 

This perfectly true episode, of a struggle which 
was full of episodes just as heroic, explains the 
profound disappointment which seized the whole 
army when it found that after all it was not to get 
what it had fought for. When, from San Stefano, 
the minarets of St. Sophia were seen, and the troops 
realised that they would not enter the ancient 
church, which a tradition, preciously preserved and 
handed over from father to son, had taught them 
would one day become once more the principal 
temple of the Orthodox faith, they lost every con- 
fidence in their sovereign, as well as every affection 
for him. They made him personally responsible 
for this ruin of their fondest hopes, and at the 
same time they lost their faith in their own selves 
and their own valour. Nihilism and anarchism be- 
came a possibility from that day, when the legend, 
which a whole nation had lived and been fed 
upon, was proved to have been but a legend after 
all. It would have been preferable to sacrifice 

139 



MY RECOLLECTIONS 

many of the advantages which Russia ultimately 
obtained, in order to have secured to the Russian 
army the entry, if only for a few days, into 
Constantinople. 

Amidst the general discontent and national 
disappointment, the Treaty of San, Stefano was 
signed, and at once disputed by the British Cabinet. 
Anxious days followed, which resulted in the call- 
ing together of the Berlin Congress. 



140 



CHAPTER VIII. 

A Double Royal Wedding — Prince Bmnarcl: does not 
Dance — HodeVs Attempt on the Emperor William'' s Life 
— Nohiling's Crime — Days of Suspense — The Regency — 
Assembling of the Berlin Congress — Lord Beaconsfeld — 
Other Figures at the Congress — The Congress itself a 
Farce. 

The year 1878, however sad it was for Russia, 
opened brightly at the German Court. In Feb- 
ruary the double marriage of the Crown Prince 
and Crown Princess's eldest daughter, Princess 
Charlotte, with Prince Bernard of Saxe-Meiningen, 
and that of Princess Elizabeth, the second daughter 
of Prince and Princess Frederick Charles, with the 
Hereditary Grand Duke of Oldenburg, took place. 
The two ceremonies were celebrated the same day, 
amidst all the pomp which generally accompanies 
the nuptials of Prussian princesses, in the chapel 
of the old castle, and were witnessed by innumerable 
relations of both brides, amongst whom came fore- 
most the King and Queen of the Belgians, and 
the Duke of Connaught, who, as I believe, became 
then acquainted with his present wife, who was 
making her debut into society on this occasion of 
her sister's wedding. At all events it was almost 
immediately afterwards that their betrothal was 
made public. 

These two weddings, before they were cele- 
141 



MY RECOLLECTIONS 

brated, had been made the object of as much 
gossip as Berlin alone could bring forth. Specu- 
lations were rife as to whether both brides would 
wear the diamond crown in which all Royal 
fiancees were married. As there existed only one 
of them, one wondered how things would be man- 
aged. It turned out that a second crown was 
made specially for the occasion, which set people's 
tongues quiet. But every small detail connected 
with the event was eagerly discussed ; among 
others the question whether Prince Bismarck 
would appear and execute the ceremony called 
Fackel tanz, which consists of all the ministers 
of the Crown walking with lighted torches before 
every newly married Royal couple, while they 
dance a solemn polonaise with the other members 
of the family. The Chancellor disappointed ex- 
pectations, for he did not appear at all, excusing 
himself, under the formal pretext of ill-health. 

I shall never forget this wedding-day ; I wonder 
even now how I managed to survive its fatigue. 
I was in a delicate state of health, and we stood 
on our feet for five solid hours, without the possi- 
bility of sitting down even for a second. It is 
wonderful what youth can do, and can stand, when 
it amuses itself — though I did not amuse myself 
on the particular occasion to which I refer. 

A few days later. Crown Prince Rudolph 
of Austria paid a visit at the Imperial Court. 
A ball was given in his honour, and he was 
made much of. No one could have ever sur- 
mised the terrible fate which was to overtake 

142 



PRINCE RUDOLPH 

him so soon ; but it was impossible not to be 
struck with a certain mournful, moqueur expres- 
sion in his eyes, and the sadness of a smile which 
was nevertheless wonderful, by the change it 
brought into a face which otherwise bore a stern, 
almost hard look. The young Archduke was con- 
sidered one of the cleverest men in his generation, 
and great as well as justifiable hopes were reposed 
in him. He was supposed to be gifted with a 
strong intellect and a firm will. His future was 
already largely mapped out by friends and foes 
alike, and a great career was prophesied for him. 
One wondered how he would get on with Prince 
William of Prussia, with whom a great friendship 
united him, when they should find themselves on 
the two greatest thrones in Europe. No one 
dreamed of the catastrophe, by which the heir 
of all the Hapsburgs would lose his life, and dis- 
appear from the world, leaving behind him an im- 
penetrable mystery. 

In May, town began as usual to get empty, 
though rumours of an impending congress were 
daily becoming more frequent. The Empress left 
as usual for Coblenz, and the Grand Duchess of 
Baden arrived to spend part of the time of her 
mother's absence with the Emperor. She was 
driving with him, when a young man called Hodel 
fired at the old sovereign. The indignation was 
intense, but no one thought of connecting this 
act with anything but the mad attempt of an 
illiterate youth, corrupted by anarchist books and 
bad companions. The Grand Duchess of Baden, 

143 



MY RECOLLECTIONS 

whom I went to see a few days after the event, 
when speaking about it, said the King had re- 
mained extraordinarily calm, and had been more 
concerned about her, than about the danger he had 
run himself. Messages of congratulation poured 
down upon him, of course, but in a very short 
time the event dropped out of people's minds, and 
ceased to form a subject of conversation. 

On Sunday, the 2nd of June, I was reading after 
lunch, when my husband burst into my room say- 
that our coachman had brought him the news that 
the Emperor had been assassinated. Though we 
did not quite believe the story, yet we started at 
once for the palace. We found the principal street, 
Unter den Linden, already crowded with a mass 
of people, whom a few policemen were in vain try- 
ing to keep quiet. My husband made himself 
known, and we succeeded in forcing our way 
through the crowd into the palace by a back door. 
We found the whole place in commotion ; no one 
seemed even to know whether the Emperor was 
alive or dead. He had been struck with about a 
hundred small lead shots, and had fallen back in 
his carriage in a state of collapse almost immedi- 
ately. His Jiiger got down from the box, and 
seating himself beside him, held him up in his 
arms whilst the carriage was driven back to the 
palace in all haste. Being Sunday no doctor could 
be found, and it was at last quite by chance that 
a medical man, who was passing through the 
street, heard what had happened and volunteered 
his services. This was quite providential, for it 

144 



ATTEMPT ON THE KAISER'S LIFE 

is certain that, had the haemorrhage not been 
stopped by him, the Emperor's hfe could not 
have been saved. As it was, he had lost already 
so much blood that for twenty-four hours we all 
expected the worst. No member of his family was 
in town. The Crown Prince, with his wife and 
children, was in England, whither he had gone 
for a long stay, with the intention of not return- 
ing to Berlin until after the deliberations of the 
Congress were over. Telegrams were, of course, 
at once dispatched to him, as well as to the 
Empress and the Grand Duchess of Baden, but 
for over twenty-four hours the old Kaiser remained 
absolutely alone. He soon recovered his presence 
of mind, and on his own initiative ordered General 
von Albedyll, the head of the Military Cabinet, to 
prepare an order conferring the Regency upon the 
Crown Prince. But the Crown Prince was away, 
and in the meanwhile, pending his return, every- 
thing which occurred added to the general confusion. 
When we left the palace, about four o'clock 
in the afternoon, we did so under the impression 
that a very few hours would see the end. In the 
evening we walked there once more. It was a 
lovely summer night, and the park which we had 
to cross looked its best. The streets were absolutely 
packed with people, and one could hardly find one's 
way through them. Not a carriage was to be seen 
or heard, and this human barrier stopped at a point 
called the Netherlands Palace, from the name of 
its owner. Prince Frederick of the Netherlands. 
It was situated next to the King's residence, and 

145 L 



MY RECOLLECTIONS 

the vast space which extended from its gates to 
the Opera House on the other side was absolutely 
empty and deserted, kept so by the police in order 
to ensure quiet to the wounded monarch. In front 
of his windows the equestrian statue of Frederick 
the Great, by Ranch, appeared almost weird in 
the moonUght, the sole inhabitant of the deserted 
square which we were all used to see lively with 
people. The grief was general. Few persons had 
hopes that the Emperor would recover, and all 
began to turn their eyes towards the heir to 
the throne, who, with his wife, was hurrying 
back to what every one expected would be the 
death-bed of his father. Speculations as to the 
consequences which the change of reign involved 
were very busy, and a general feeling of uneasi- 
ness prevailed at the thought that it was taking 
place under such grave circumstances, and at such 
a critical period in European politics. At the 
Russian Embassy consternation reigned supreme, 
and wild telegrams were exchanged between 
St. Petersburg and Berlin. The man in the street 
was shaking his head, the army was undecided 
as to what it had to expect or to hope from the 
new ruler. In the palace, servants and attendants 
were weeping; the night passed away, anxious, 
laden with electricity, as such nights generally 
are. In the morning we heard better reports, and 
confidence began slowly to come back. If the 
worst had not happened in the first twenty-four 
hours, it could be hoped that it might yet be 
averted. At ten o'clock in the morning the 

146 



THE CROWN PRINCE AS REGENT 

Empress and her daughter, the Grand Duchess 
of Baden, who had only left Berlin a few days 
before the catastrophe, returned to the capital, 
and were greeted by a sympathetic and respectful 
crowd. But the interest was not concentrated in 
these two women ; it lay with the Prince, who 
was awaited with impatience by all, and who was 
coming back to the country as its Regent, previous, 
as every one thought, to becoming its sovereign. 

The Crown Prince and Princess had been on 
a visit to the late Lord Salisbury at Hatfield 
House, when the news reached them. They 
started at once for Berlin, and on the very same 
evening of his arrival, the Crown Prince assumed 
the Regency which he was to exercise for six 
months, but he found it no easy task, as he 
soon saw, when the prospects of the Emperor's 
recovery became more certain, that he would be 
allowed very little authority beyond that of signing 
State documents. He was not permitted to have 
his say in questions of external politics, and upon 
all others he found himself cramped by rules, pro- 
cedures, and traditions which it was impossible for 
him to break through. Those months, when he 
exercised in appearance a power which in reality 
he did not possess, must have been trying ones 
for him, but profound respect for his father pre- 
vented him from complaining. 

It was amidst this general uncertainty that the 
Congress opened its deliberations in Berlin on 
June 13th, and, of course, it was watched with the 
greatest interest by the whole of the civilised world. 

147 



MY RECOLLECTIONS 

The most prominent statesmen of the day arrived 
in the German capital, and since the Congress of 
Vienna such an assemblage of distinguished per- 
sonages had never been seen anywhere. First and 
foremost among them was the English Premier, 
the Earl of Beaconsfield. 

I had, of course, against Disraeli the prejudices 
which I was bound to have as a Russian; he 
appeared to my eyes as the incarnation of every- 
thing that was bad, evil, and destructive. I detested 
him as a parvenu, and as the man who had 
humiliated and defied my country. But when I 
met him my prejudices melted away like snow in 
the sunshine. A more fascinating personage than 
the late Lord Beaconsfield has never existed. 
When one met him, one understood at once his 
successes, and the reason for them ; he had in 
him that great charm which only people possessed 
with great confidence in themselves can attain to. 
He absolutely believed in his own power of doing 
what he wanted, and at the time he wanted. 
Lord Beaconsfield, as a man of the world, has had 
no equal ; his conversation was a never-ending 
source of delight to his listeners. He had a dry 
way of saying the most funny things which it was 
impossible to resist, and, knowing the world as he 
did, he never committed the fault of saying the 
wrong thing, or relating the wrong anecdote in 
the wrong place. He had studied princes as well 
as women, and was aware that they can swallow an 
unlimited amount of flattery, if distributed with 
the necessary tact. He liked to contradict people 

148 



BEACONSFIELD AT BERLIN 

in order to give them the pleasure of thinking they 
had converted him to their own point of view. 
One day a lady, having reminded him of a dis- 
cussion they had had together, added, * 1 believe 
still I was right.' *My dear lady,' repKed the 
Earl, 'you could never be anything else.' 

Lord Beaconsfield liked what were called 'Coups 
d'Etat.' I don't think he ever enjoyed anything so 
much as when the thunderclap of his secret agree- 
ments with Russia about Batoum, and with Turkey 
about Cyprus, was made public. I remember him 
well on that evening at a party of Countess 
Karolyi's, the Austrian Ambassadress. People 
were either indignant or furious, and every eye in 
the room was directed towards the statesman who 
had so completely hoodwinked everybody. He was 
walking along very quietly, with his sphinx-like 
countenance, and an eager, searching look upon his 
face. I asked him what he was thinking of. ' I 
am not thinking,' he replied ; ' I am enjoying my- 
self. I hope you are doing the same ? ' he added 
hastily, as if afraid he had said too much. 

The brilliancy of Lord Beaconsfield naturally 
threw his two colleagues somewhat in the shade. 
Lord Salisbury had not yet risen to the great 
position which became his later on. He went 
about generally silent, a quick observer, and a most 
charming, amiable man. His wife came to join him 
later on for a few days, and it was then that began 
between us the relations which afterwards brought 
me several times to Hatfield House. 

With Lord Beaconsfield, too, I struck up a 
149 



MY RECOLLECTIONS 

friendship, which resulted later on in the exchange 
of a few letters. He made me a curious prediction 
as to my future, which, in part, has become true, 
and one of his letters to me refers to this subject. 

Count Andrassy was another prominent per- 
sonage at the Congress. A brilliant apparition in 
his Hungarian uniform, he arrived surrounded with 
all the halo of a man who had become Prime 
Minister of the sovereign by whom he had been 
sentenced to death. There was much that was 
dashing in him, but I do not think that he could 
have been called a great statesman, though he 
certainly was a great politician — greater, perhaps, 
than Lord Beaconsfield himself, but without the 
happy adaptability of the latter. He was mar- 
vellous in getting over a momentary difficulty, 
and in making use of momentary advantages. 
I question whether he had that large glance which 
sees across the advantages of the hour those of the 
future. His eyesight was narrow, though his look- 
out extended perhaps far ahead of that of those 
with whom he had to deal. 

Russia played a sorry part at the Congress. 
Old Prince GortchakofF had insisted upon attending 
it, and his immense vanity, joined to the natural 
weakness of a man far advanced in the eighties, 
could not but place him at a disadvantage among 
the clever men with whom he was surrounded. 
His colleague, Count Schouwaloff, was smarting 
under the sense of his failure in having correctly 
judged of the attitude of the British Government. 
He vaguely felt he had been ' rouLe,' to use a French 

150 



PRINCE GORTCHAKOFF 

expression, and that his reward would be the in- 
dignation of his whole country. A brilliant man, 
he unfortunately made the mistake of thinking that 
his bright wit would be sufficient to check the 
ambitions of Lord Beaconsfield. He imagined 
that by getting England to consent to the annexa- 
tion of Batoum by Russia he had achieved a great 
success, while in reaUty he had only been check- 
mated by the astute Hebrew with whom he had 
had to deal. The knowledge of this, once he 
had realised it, weighed upon his spirits, and pre- 
vented him from being as active as he would have 
shown himself in other circumstances ; he knew but 
too well that everything he did would be regarded 
with suspicion by his countrymen, and that he was 
doomed to sink into obscurity as soon as the Con- 
gress was over. The Turkish plenipotentiaries 
were, of course, at a disadvantage. It must be 
added that none of them, with the exception of 
Mahmoud Pacha, had any idea of asserting them- 
selves, and they arrived in Berlin resigned before- 
hand to all that England would decide concerning 
their fate. Italy was represented by Count Corti, an 
amiable little man, with whom I also struck up a 
great friendship, and remained in correspondence 
to the time of his death. He entertained us at his 
house at Constantinople, where he was appointed 
Ambassador immediately after the Congress, and 
pleasant are the recollections I have carried away 
with me, from the hours spent under his hospitable 
roof. 

The Congress lasted a month. However much 
151 



MY RECOLLECTIONS 

it occupied people's minds outside of Berlin, I am 
bound to confess that the death of the young 
Queen of Spain, the first consort of Alfonso XII., 
interested German Society more than the con- 
ferences on which the fate of the world depended. 
To tell the truth, the results of the Congress had 
been discounted from the day that the secret 
agreements between Russia and England, and 
England and Turkey, had been disclosed to the 
world, and people were only eager to see the whole 
farce end. Bismarck himself desired it, as he felt 
he had, in spite of the Crown Prince's English 
sympathies, a better chance of managing him than 
the old Emperor. He feared the personal in- 
fluence of Alexander II. over his uncle, as well 
as the remembrances of the old associations 
of his childhood and youth, which were always so 
powerful with William I. Summer was advancing, 
every one was anxious to leave the hot and close 
atmosphere of Berlin for green fields and pastures 
new, and the English plenipotentiaries were anxious 
to return to London before ParUament rose for the 
summer recess. Everything conspired to shorten 
the deliberations of the Congress, and no one was 
sorry when it actually came to an end. It had 
been a humiliation all round, except for England, 
and for the man who directed its policy. 

A curious feature of the Congress was the 
quantity of various and interesting people who 
crowded to Berlin during its deliberations, ta 
begin with the Armenian Patriarch, and to end 
with M. de Blowitz of Times fame. 

152 



M. DE BLOWITZ 

This famous journalist was almost as con- 
spicuous as Lord Beaconsfield himself. He 
enjoyed his notoriety even more than did the 
English statesman, and I think was firmly per- 
suaded that he, and he alone, held the fate of 
Europe in his hands. It was most amusing to 
watch him, and observe the art with which he 
contrived to be always there when something 
important was discussed. No one liked him and 
not a few feared him ; but though perfectly well 
aware of the feelings he inspired, his only aim 
being to obtain information, he walked along 
serenely indifferent to insults or flatteries, with 
one and one only end in view, that of keeping 
his paper well informed as to what was going on. 

It was a kaleidoscope, where nationalities, con- 
victions, men, manners, ambitions, hopes, and 
disappointments were crowded. Those who had 
nothing to do with the subjects which were dis- 
cussed in the old Radziwill Palace, came never- 
theless to the Prussian capital, partly from curi- 
osity, partly from the desire to be able to say 
that they had been present at one of the most 
remarkable events of the century. Though the 
Congress did not dance, like its Viennese prede- 
cessor, it contrived to amuse itself sufficiently 
well. The only member of it who was never 
seen anywhere was, of course, Prince Bismarck, 
who on this memorable occasion, as on all others,^ 
remained faithful to his principle of not showing 
himself. 

In the solitude of his room he was meditating 
163 



MY RECOLLECTIONS 

on the consequences of the treaty that had been 
elaborated under his sanction, but without his 
approval. He already guessed that one of its con- 
sequences would be the rupture of that alliance 
between the three Emperors, from which so much 
had been expected. He foresaw that the Eastern 
question, instead of being settled, would be left 
open for many years to come. But Bismarck 
could not foresee, genius though he was, the com- 
plications which a change of sovereigns, in Russia 
as well as in Germany, might mean. He reck- 
oned with events, as he said himself at that 
time to one of his confidants, ' but it was im- 
possible to reckon with actions of individuals.' 

Thus ended the Berlin Congress, that time of 
merry days and mournful memories. It had 
been short-lived, full of events, over-rated as to 
its consequences, and under-estimated as to its 
value. It did not bring peace, but only rest to 
the world, and it sowed the seeds of many future 
animosities, and many misunderstandings. Every 
one breathed more freely when it was over, and 
Berlin settled once more to its summer quietude. 
In the meanwhile, the old Emperor was gra- 
dually getting well, and the Crown Prince strug- 
gling with the intricacies of an impossible position, 
out of which he was to come with diminished 
authority and impaired prestige. 



154 



CHAPTER IX. 

The King's Recovery — Marriage of Prince Henry of the 
Netherlands — The Difficult Position of the Regent — 
Emperor William's Return to Berlin — Enthusiasm at 
the Opera — The Crown Prince and Anti-Socialist Legis- 
lation — Herr Rebel — Death of the Princess Alice and of 
Prince Waldemar — The White Lady — The Emperor'' s 
Golden Wedding. 

The treaty signed, and peace once more re- 
stored to the world, people began to settle down 
again to their usual hfe. The Crown Prince and 
Princess remained at Potsdam, and in August the 
Emperor was pronounced to be sufficiently well 
to go to Teplitz, in Bohemia, to undergo a cure 
after his illness. He had made a wonderful re- 
covery, and all danger that the grave illness he 
had gone through, would leave standing traces on 
his health had gone by. The Empress remained 
with him the greater part of the summer, but it 
was very much commented upon, that she refused 
to appear before the pubhc in her official capacity, 
so long as her son was at the head of the affairs 
of State, never even receiving the members of the 
Congress. The Regent, on his part, was not lavish 
in his hospitality, for beyond an official dinner, 
which was given by him in the King's name, to 
the different delegates, he abstained from any 
social demonstrations, and lived in great retirement. 

155 



MY RECOLLECTIONS 

In August the eldest daughter of Prince and 
Princess Frederick Charles, the Princess Marie, 
was married at Potsdam to the brother of the King 
of the Netherlands, Prince Henry. He was some 
forty years older than his bride, and it was well 
known that it was only his great position and im- 
mense riches, which had decided the Princess to 
marry him. One may, therefore, imagine the 
embarrassment of the guests at the wedding cere- 
mony, when the clergyman who performed it re- 
commended to the bride, in his sermon, to have a 
good heart, and to try and fulfil her duties, no 
matter how difficult she might find them. If she 
found them hard, the trial did not last long ; for less 
than six months after his marriage Prince Henry 
died, leaving his widow one of the richest princesses 
in Europe. She married again, a few years later. 
Prince Albert of Saxe-Altenburg, and died in 
childbirth not long afterwards. 

As summer went on, one began to wonder 
what would be the position of the Crown Prince 
when the Emperor once more took up the reins 
of government. No one thought for a moment 
that he would be excluded from affairs of the 
State, as had been the case until then. Various 
rumours circulated, and it was even said that 
a special post of Lieutenant of the Emperor 
would be created for his heir. Prince Bismarck, 
however, when questioned on the subject, replied 
that he did not see the reason why a new office 
should be created, and that the Emperor having 
ruled wisely in the past, would probably do the 

156 



THE CROWN PRINCE'S POSITION 

same in the future. The Crown Prince himself 
had no wish to be treated as the fifth wheel of 
a coach, and frankly owned he would rather have 
no authority at all, than only its semblance. I 
don't think that the Princess quite agreed with 
him. She was full of ambitions, and the sorrows 
which later overshadowed her life, and which, had 
she known it, were at the very time I am writing 
of, hovering over her head, had not yet struck 
her. She had all the impatience of youth, and 
had not learned the bitter lesson of patience, 
acquired through grief and trial. She still hoped, 
and she did not yet fear. Life, in spite of its 
usual vicissitudes, had remained for her, in certain 
things, an unread book. When, at last, she had 
to take it up in her hands, and study its pages, 
the lesson, though learned with the heroism she 
showed in all the crises of her existence, was the 
more bitter that it was so little expected. 

It was early in December when the Emperor 
returned to Berlin. The whole town put on its 
holiday array, and great were the preparations and 
ovations with which he was greeted. We went 
quite early in the morning to the palace of old 
Count Redern, on the Pariser Platz, from which 
an excellent view was obtained of the Brandenburg 
Gate, through which the sovereign had to pass. 
The streets were lined with troops, and extra- 
ordinary precautions had been taken to ensure 
the old monarch's safety. A compact crowd filled 
the streets, of course, and, when the Royal carriage 
appeared, great and many were the manifestations 

157 



MY RECOLLECTIONS 

of joy of the people. There was, however, a certain 
restraint observable, which spoiled the character 
and spontaneity of the reception, and which was 
due to the want of tact of the police authorities. 
They were so terrified lest there should be another 
attack on the Emperor, that it was sufficient for a 
person to wave a pocket-handkerchief, to excite 
suspicion. 

The same evening, however, witnessed a very 
different scene. Quite by chance, for no one 
thought the King would venture into a theatre 
on that first night of his return, we happened to 
be at the Opera. The performance had hardly 
begun, when the doors of the small box in which 
the Royal family used to sit on ordinary occasions 
opened, and the King himself entered, and quietly 
advanced to his usual seat. With one spontaneous 
movement the whole house rose to its feet, and a 
manifestation, the like of which I am sure I shall 
never witness again, took place. The crowd simply 
yelled, without stopping, for something like a 
quarter of an hour; women frantically waved 
their handkerchiefs, their shawls, everything they 
could find or lay their hands upon. Men threw 
their hats and their caps in the air ; one wild 
acclamation filled the whole of the building. The 
Emperor came to the front of the box, and for a 
few moments stood quite still, looking at the excited 
mass of humanity acclaiming him. He made a 
sign with his hand as if he wished to speak ; but 
the shouts became louder and louder, until at last, 
as if unable to bear it any longer, he withdrew to 

158 



CRUSADE AGAINST SOCIALISM 

the back of the box ; but as he did so, one could 
see his hand with its white glove pass over his 
cheek, as if he wiped away a tear. 

The next day appeared in all the papers a 
letter of thanks addressed to the Crown Prince 
for the exemplary way he had fulfilled the oner- 
ous duties of Regent. Nothing more ; not the 
slightest allusion to the possibility of a less de- 
pendent position being granted to the man who, 
for six eventful months, had borne the burden of 
the State amidst all kind of difficulties — difficulties 
of which the new situation created for the Socialist 
party by the measures taken against it was not the 
least. 

It was after the first attempt against the life 
of William I. that Prince Bismarck had presented 
to the Imperial Parliament a Bill restricting the 
activity of the Socialist party, and putting a stop 
to the propagation of its principles. It had been 
rejected by the Assembly, much to his dissatisfac- 
tion, principally on account of the opposition of the 
Catholic party. When the Emperor was wounded, 
the first thing Bismarck submitted to the Regent 
was the necessity of dissolving the Reichstag, and 
proceeding to new elections. The plan did not appeal 
to the Prince ; he did not like the idea of trading (so 
to say) on the personal affection his father inspired 
in his subjects, in order to win from their indigna- 
tion measures which he knew were repugnant 
to their feelings. But when he suggested some- 
thing like that to the Chancellor, he was met 
with allusions to the deplorable impression which 

159 



MY RECOLLECTIONS 

would be produced abroad, if he did not take every 
possible measure to avenge his father. Placed 
thus, between his duty, or what he was told was 
his duty, and his sense of right and wrong, the 
Prince had no resource but to submit to the iron 
hand which ruled him as much as it did Prussia. 
The Reichstag was dissolved, and the new elec- 
tions took place under the influence produced by 
the horror inspired by the odious attempt of 
June 2nd. They showed a considerable decrease of 
Socialist votes, but, as the leaders of the party 
were returned, the fierceness of the debates which 
accompanied the introduction of the Bill was not 
diminished, and it was, on the contrary, fought with 
a ferocity which was the more earnest because it 
knew itself to be powerless. 

During the three days which were occupied with 
the deliberations of the different clauses of the new 
law, which was to weigh so heavily on the Socialist 
party afterwards, I never left the tribune from 
which ladies were allowed to hear the debates. 
These were feverishly listened to, by all those who 
could get access to the House. They were opened 
by the Chancellor himself, who spoke for over an 
hour, and to whom Bebel (the great Socialist 
leader) replied in a speech which deserved to go 
down to posterity as an example of eloquence. 
Never were such impassioned accents heard with- 
in the walls of the old building. Every one felt 
moved by the strange persuasiveness with which this 
remarkable man appealed to the sense of justice and 
humanity of the whole German nation, adjuring it 

160 



HERR BEBEL 

not to make outcasts of thousands of its children. 
In listening to those savage accents one seemed 
to hear made vocal the wi'iting on the wall which, 
amidst the splendours of the Persian King's supper, 
appeared to remind him that ' for all these 
things he would be brought into judgment/ It 
is impossible not to be moved by an argument 
when it comes from the lips of Bebel : he speaks 
of poverty, of misery, of vice, as a man who 
has known and suffered from these things ; he 
knows how to excite his listeners' pity, not for 
imaginary facts, but for painful and sad truths ; he 
knows how to make them touch with their finger 
all the evils of which he speaks to them. On the 
particular occasion to which I refer, he surpassed 
himself; but his efforts were doomed before 
they were made, and the obnoxious Bill passed, 
though with a smaller majority than Bismarck had 
counted upon. It was curious to watch the House 
as each deputy was called by name, by the President, 
in order to reckon his vote. As the words ' Yes ' 
or ' No ' fell from each member's lips, remarks were 
made, often so loud as to drown the voice of the 
next speaker. 

The Catholics, for once, did not vote on strict 
party lines, Windthorst having wisely allowed them 
to use their personal convictions in this matter. 
Some of them abstained from recording their votes ; 
others, like Count Chamare, the brother-in-law of 
Count Deym, late Austrian Ambassador at the 
Court of St. James, bravely opposed the measure, 
to the great scandal of the Royal family, with whom 

161 M 



MY RECOLLECTIONS 

his wife was a great favourite. The Emperor, 
when told of this, was so disgusted that he struck 
off the Count and Countess's names from the Ust 
of those admitted to Court, which of course did 
not encourage others to follow their example. 

The law passed, however, as I have already said, 
and I do not know whether the person who was the 
most sorry for it was not the Crown Prince, who 
certainly, had he been sole master, would never 
have granted his assent to a measure of the kind. 

I have said that sorrow was hovering around 
the Crown Princess. Just as she was trying to get 
over her disappointment about the unfair way in 
which she considered her husband had been treated, 
she heard, to her dismay, of her sister's, the Grand 
Duchess of Hesse's, illness. A few days passed, 
and with them the fair, useful life of the Princess 
Alice. For a moment the Crown Princess remained 
stunned by the blow. It was the most bitter grief 
she had yet experienced ; in her sister she lost not 
only the companion, the friend of her young days, 
but also the guide, the master to whom she used to 
turn in every difficulty of her life, and whose calm, 
clear judgment, by its contrast to the elder sister's 
impetuosity, helped her often to surmount the 
disappointments she felt, with an acuteness they 
did not always deserve. With the Grand 
Duchess of Hesse were buried not only the happy 
hours of the future German Empress, but also 
much that was tender in her nature, and a great 
deal of what was useful. All her interest in various 
pursuits which she had shared with the dear com- 

162 



THE SHADOW FEARED OF MAN 

panion that been taken away from her was gone ; 
her hfe was completely changed on that fatal 14th 
of December, and the wound then inflicted was 
never cured, nor even healed. 

The blow, as is so often the case, was not to be 
an isolated one. In March the Crown Prince and 
Princess went to Windsor, to be present at the 
Duke of Connaught's marriage with Princess Mar- 
garet of Prussia, returning to Berlin for the 
Emperor's birthday on the 22nd of March. A 
State concert was given, as usual, on that day at 
the castle, at which concert I saw the Princess for 
the first time since her return from England. She 
seemed very unhappy still, and her beautiful eyes 
were beginning to have that hunted look, which 
hardly left them afterwards. But she tried to be 
cheerful, and spoke of her brother's wedding, and 
the pleasure it had been to her to be able to be 
present at it. Three days later we were startled 
to hear that young Prince Waldemar, the youngest 
son of the heir to the throne, had died suddenly 
from diphtheria, after only a few hours' illness. It 
is needless to say that all our sympathies went 
out to the bereaved father and mother. The 
latter was absolutely broken-hearted. Those two 
sorrows, coming as they did, one on the top of 
the other, would have been sufficient to crush any 
woman. They did something more than crush the 
unfortunate Crown Princess ; they killed her — with 
that kind of death to which the Empress Elizabeth 
of Austria referred when she said, ' There is in 
every human life a moment when one inwardly 

163 



MY RECOLLECTIONS 

dies.' The Crown Princess was never the same after 
that winter, which transformed her into a Mater 
Dolorosa, and that childUke capacity for enjoyment, 
which had constituted one of her principal charms, 
left her, never to return. 

This death of Prince Waldemar reminds me of 
a curious incident which was widely commented 
upon in Berlin at the time it occurred. It must 
be known to my readers that a certain White Lady 
is supposed to haunt the halls of the old castle in 
Berlin, and to appear whenever there is going to 
be a death in the family of the Hohenzollerns. A 
few days before the demise of Prince Waldemar, 
before, in fact, he was taken ill, a gentleman I knew 
very well. Count Kleist, the brother of the Princess 
Pless, asked me, at an entertainment of some kind 
where we met, whether I had heard that the White 
Lady had been seen in the castle. We both 
laughed a little over the superstition, but the next 
day the rumour had gone round the whole of 
society, and the unexpected end of the young 
Prince lent it a rather uncanny significance. It is 
the only time I have heard of a ghost, whose 
mission in life is to announce a death in a family, 
appearing, or being reported to have appeared, be- 
fore the fact actually took place, and at a time when 
it could not be suspected of being about to occur. 

The Crown Princess left Berlin almost imme- 
diately after her son's funeral. She was not allowed, 
however, to mourn him for a long time, as the cele- 
bration of the Emperor's golden wedding recalled 
her to the capital early in the following June. 

164 



THE KAISER'S GOLDEN WEDDING 

I think that all the Royalties which Germany 
could boast of, found themselves in Berlin for this 
important anniversary in its first Emperor's life. 
He rather dreaded the associations connected with 
it, but the Empress Augusta could not dissimulate 
her joy, and made, as well as caused to be made, 
the most elaborate preparations for the great 
event. Her dress was a marvel of elegance, all 
of cloth of gold, embroidered with diamonds, and 
she covered her head with a gold-spangled veil, 
which curiously, and it must be added most inhar- 
moniously, contrasted with the tint of her wig. 
She was already beginning at that time to suffer 
from the illness which at last confined her, an 
incurable cripple, to her chair ; but she called into 
requisition all the energy of her nature to stand up 
and show herself a real Queen, surrounded with 
all the pomp and attributes of royalty, and when 
she appeared in the old chapel of the castle, led by her 
consort, she looked wonderfully young for her age. 

The ceremony lasted a long time — too long 
both for the actors in it with their eighty years, and 
for' the assistants, who were, of course, denied the 
luxury of seats. I remember that, hearing suddenly 
an exclamation of impatience, I turned round, and 
to my intense surprise saw Prince Bismarck 
standing behind me. He smiled on noticing my 
astonishment, and made an excuse of some sort for 
his impatience, upon which we started a conversa- 
tion, which, I am sorry to say, lasted the whole 
time of the sermon, and, I believe, scandalised all 
our neighbours. 

165 



MY RECOLLECTIONS 

It was during the festivities which followed 
upon the celebration of this golden wedding that 
the Court of Prussia was surprised by the applica- 
tion of the new rules of precedence which had been 
elaborated by the Empress and the Chief Master of 
Ceremonies, Count Stillfried. They produced a 
perfect revolution, especially among the junior 
members of princely families, who found themselves 
excluded from some of the honours awarded to the 
heads of their houses. In reality, there was nothing 
offensive in these new rules, which were very 
sensible on some points, but people would not look 
upon the fact in that simple way, and I remember 
my husband's indignation when he found we were 
only invited to the White Hall of the castle, and 
not to the chapel, on the day of the golden wedding. 
He sent back our invitation, to my intense disgust, 
for I had had a new gown made for the occasion, 
and did not care in the least where I wore it, pro- 
vided I was given the opportunity to put it on my 
back. Besides, I thought it terribly unkind towards 
the old Emperor, who had always been so good to 
us. However, he set the matter straight himself 
when he heard of this tempest in a glass of water, 
and gave orders that we were to be asked to the 
chapel, orders which procured an airing to my new 
frock, and the advantage of a conversation with 
Prince Bismarck to myself. 



166 



CHAPTER X. 

The Growing Unpopularity of the Czar — His Treatment of 
the Empress — A Reign of Terror in St. Petersburg — 
Death of the Empress — The Emperor Marries the 
Princess Dolgoroiiki — Assassination of Alexander II. — 
The Scene at the Death-bed — Alexander III. — Count 
Ignatiev — / go to Constantinople. 

Nobiling's crime was the first one of a series of 
acts of the same kind which were attempted in 
a few months against the different crowned heads 
of Europe. In Russia these attempts succeeded 
each other almost without breathing - time, and 
proved to be of a more daring and desperate 
character than anywhere else. The Emperor was 
first fired at one morning, whilst taking his con- 
stitutional walk, by a young man called SolowiefF, 
who very quickly paid with his life for the audacity 
or fanaticism that had armed his hand. When 
the news became known, every thinking man in 
Russia felt convinced that the crime would be 
repeated sooner or later, and sooner than later. 
The country was in a state of fermentation ever 
since the war, which, instead of smouldering down, 
was growing day by day. The unpopularity of the 
Emperor was steadily increasing among all classes, 
even among those who up till then had been the 
staunchest supporters of the throne. The use- 
lessness of a war that had drained all the material 

167 



MY RECOLLECTIONS 

resources of the nation, and saddled it with a burden 
of debt and disappointment, was made a reproach 
to the Emperor, who it was said, had not had the 
courage to make a stand against it, when it had 
been in his power, nor yet the energy, once it was 
begun, to bring it to a satisfactory conclusion. 

The Congi'ess of Berlin was generally considered 
as a national disgrace, and the two great parties 
which at that time divided Russia, the Panslavists 
and the Nihilists, vied with each other in their 
denunciations of the unhappy sovereign. The 
popularity of the earlier days of his reign had 
vanished, never to return ; Alexander II. was 
paying the penalty of having attempted to do 
too much, and to do it too quickly. His was 
essentially a resentful nature. He could not bring 
himself to forgive his subjects for not under- 
standing his good intentions towards them, and 
as the misunderstanding between the people and 
their ruler grew deeper and deeper, he became 
more sullen, more unforgiving. His days were 
one constant fear ; fear of assassination, of revo- 
lution ; fear of his surroundings, of his family, of 
everything, and every one with whom he had to 
deal. His home life also was not a happy one. 
His children could not forgive him for his con- 
nection with the Princess Dolgorouki, later Prin- 
cess Youriewski. His wife, after having endured 
with exemplary patience, his neglect and numerous 
infidelities, had come to regard him as a stranger, 
and relations between them were, if not exactly 
hostile, at least cool. She never complained, but 

168 



THE PRINCESS DOLGOROUKI 

made her very delicate health a pretext for living 
a more and more retired life. She affected absolute 
ignorance of her husband's goings on, and even 
when the Princess Dolgorouki was given rooms 
at the Winter Palace, over those of the Empress, 
who could hear the children of her rival run and 
play above her head, she never betrayed by a sign 
or a word, that she was aware of what was taking 
place. 

Society was not so indulgent ; the Emperor 
soon came to be shunned by its leaders, and looked 
upon as a confirmed sinner by the devotes, of whom 
St. Petersburg counts so many. The Government 
of the country was drifting for want of a strong 
hand to hold it in check, and different ambitions 
began to pull the nation as well as society in many 
conflicting directions. 

The public began to look towards the heir to 
the throne, whose popularity increased as his father's 
was waning. The Grand Duchess Dagmar, his 
wife, had been a favourite in Russian society almost 
from the first day she had entered it. Her lovely 
eyes and sweet smile, had done more than anjrthing 
else to reconcile Russia to many otherwise objection- 
able things. Her husband, too, had made him- 
self popular during those dark days of the war, 
when he showed himself so true to his duty, and 
so careful for his soldiers' comforts and welfare. I 
really believe, and I am not the only one that 
does so, that had a kind Providence removed 
Alexander II., on the morrow of the war. Nihilism 
would never have spread in the way it did, or at 

169 



MY RECOLLECTIONS 

least would not have been sympathised with by 
so many people. It proceeded more from dislike 
of a particular sovereign, than from hatred of the 
monarchical system. 

SolowiefTs attempt was followed in quick suc- 
cession by the blowing up of an Imperial train 
near Moscow, and by the famous explosion in 
the Winter Palace, by which the whole of the 
Imperial family might have lost their lives, but 
for the lucky accident of Prince Alexander of 
Hesse having been late for dinner. Assassinations 
of private individuals, such as that of General 
Mezentsoff, the head of the secret police, only 
added to the general consternation, one may 
almost call it panic, which seized the whole of 
society, in Russia, during these eventful years of 
1879-1881. I remember having arrived in St. 
Petersburg on one of my yearly visits to my father 
in autumn, 1879, just after the murder of General 
Mezentsoff; indignation, though very general, had 
no shade of astonishment in it, and every one 
seemed agreed that the event could never have 
happened had the sovereign been more popular. 
People looked upon every Nihilist crime as a 
consequence of the false comprehension Alex- 
ander II. had of his duties and responsibilities. 

The fact is that the unfortunate Emperor had 
survived himself People were weary of him ; his 
reign had begun in such a burst of enthusiasm, had 
been hailed with such hopes, that it was bound to 
become a burden to all those who had prophesied that 
it would be one of the greatest in Russian history. 

170 



UNPOPULARITY OF THE CZAR 

From the moment people realised that their desires 
could never be fulfilled, the Emperor was doomed. 
He had, sooner or later, to fall a victim to the 
hopes he had raised, without understanding whither 
his reforms were going to lead the Russian people. 
His attempt to bring his country to a level with 
the other European ones, was bound to end in 
disaster, for at heart he had never intended to grant 
to his people the liberties which are the privileges 
of nations constitutionally governed. He had 
wished to impress the world with his Liberal 
opinions and ideas. It was a hopeless attempt ;. 
because at heart he was not a Liberal, but only 
had wished to appear as such, whilst in reality 
governing with an absolutism beside which his 
father's, tempered as it always had been by a vast 
intelligence, was but child's play. The difference 
between the two men lay in the fact that Nicholas I. 
was by nature a clever man, whilst his son was only 
given the appearance of being such, by a very clever 
education. 

I remember very well those autumn weeks in 
St. Petersburg, in that year, so eventful in the 
history of the country. Between the wounds^ 
caused by the war, which were still bleeding, and 
the fear of what the future held in store, a general 
uneasiness prevailed. A system of terror reigned ; 
squadrons of Cossacks went about patrolling the 
streets of the town, and though conversations were 
very guarded, yet the impression was there that a 
change of some kind was necessary, in order to 
avoid still greater catastrophes than those already 

171 



MY RECOLLECTIONS 

experienced. One felt the reign had been a failure, 
yet one did not dare to say so, and, at heart, the 
general public was wishing and hoping for some 
solution of the difficulties of the general situation, 
the best of which appeared to be a change of 
sovereign. My father, who was always ready to 
relate anecdotes of his past life at the side of 
Nicholas I., told me at that time, a curious story 
about a prediction made by that monarch a few 
days before his death, when he already knew that 
his hours were numbered. It was to the effect that 
his son, should he launch into the reforms he pro- 
jected, would not die in his bed, but perish under 
the knife or ball of an assassin. The event proved 
how well that Emperor understood his country and 
his people. 

In 1880, at the end of June, the Empress Marie 
Alexandrowna died, almost suddenly, but after an 
illness which had extended over a series of years. 
The last time she had appeared in public had been 
at the celebration of the jubilee of twenty -five years' 
reign of her husband, and then it had only been for 
a few minutes. Six weeks after she had passed 
a-way, the Emperor married his former mistress, the 
Princess Catherine Dolgorouki, to whom was 
awarded the title of Princess Youriewski, and 
Serene Highness. Her children also became 
Serene Highnesses, and very soon after the union 
rumours went round that the new consort of the 
sovereign was going to be publicly recognised as 
such, and crowned solemnly at Moscow. Whether 
this rumour, which I believe was well founded, 

172 



COUNT LORIS MELIKOFF 

would have become an accomplished fact or not, I 
cannot, of course, tell, but it is certain that if it 
did not lead to the catastrophe of March 13th, it 
mitigated a good deal of the horror which followed 
upon its execution. 

The Princess Youriewski, whose marriage was 
accompanied by the curious circumstance that the 
Emperor, who generally wore uniform, elected 
to be dressed in plain evening clothes for the 
celebration of it, was credited with Liberal ideas 
and with a determination to endow Russia with a 
Constitution. She was a great friend of Count 
Loris Melikoff, who at that time was, in virtue of 
the special powers granted to him, a veritable 
dictator. Count Loris was an Armenian, endowed 
with all the cunning and astuteness of his 
race ; and it is certain that the granting of a 
Constitution had been decided upon by the 
Emperor, his wife, and Count Loris. The docu- 
ment was prepared and signed, and was to be made 
public on the declaration of the sovereign's marriage. 
In the Imperial family consternation reigned 
supreme, the more so that the heir to the throne 
and his wife were in a sort of disgrace owing to the 
attitude they had adopted towards their father's 
wife. Three days before the Emperor's murder he 
had summoned his daughter-in-law to his presence, 
and bitterly reproached her for a sledge drive she 
had taken in company with a man who was destined 
to become in time the most powerful personage in 
Russia, General Tcherewine, then under-secretary 
for home affairs. He had always been among 

173 



MY RECOLLECTIONS 

the intimate friends of the Grand Duke and his 
wife, and the Emperor's anger was absolutely un- 
justifiable. But he chose to be disagreeable 
towards his children, and to humiliate them in 
every possible way. His remarks to the Grand 
Duchess were as offensive as they could well be, 
and those he made to the General so very personal 
and abusive that the latter determined to resign 
his post at once. He had already wi'itten his 
request to be allowed to return to private life, 
when the bomb of Ryssakoff put an end to a 
situation which, at least in regard to the relations 
between Alexander II. and his children, had become 
almost unbearable. 

On that eventful day, which was to see the 
change of reign, the Emperor had been warned 
not to leave the palace. Count Loris had told 
the Princess Youriewski that he could not answer 
for her husband's life if he went out, and had 
begged her to use her influence in order to per- 
suade him to give up the review, which took place, 
as a rule, every Sunday. Whether the Princess 
had done so or not, remains a mystery to this day. 
It is probable she did what she was told, and was 
not heard or listened to. The Emperor appeared 
as usual at the review, and, though, it was noticed, 
he look grave and preoccupied, yet he went 
through the usual routine without flinching. The 
review over, he lunched with his cousin, the 
Grand Duchess Catherine, staying with her until 
about three o'clock. The road back to the Winter 
Palace led by a narrow canal, which at that hour 

174 



ASSASSINATION OF THE CZAR 

of the day was almost deserted. The Emperor 
was alone in his carriage, accompanied as usual 
by an escort of Cossacks. The first bomb that 
was thrown shattered the carriage, and killed a 
Cossack. Alexander II., in spite of his coachman's 
entreaties, insisted upon getting out and seeing 
to the wounded man. RyssakofF, in the mean- 
time, had been seized by some policemen that 
the noise had brought up, and was led before the 
Emperor, who at that moment was replying to the 
anxious question of one of the Cossacks as to 
whether he was hurt, by the words, ' No, thanks 
be given to God,' which, Ryssakoff hearing, re- 
plied to with the remark, ' It is too early yet to 
thank God.' 

At this very instant Mile. Perowskaya was 
giving with her handkerchief a signal to another 
conspirator, who had been waiting with his bomb, 
in case the first one failed to accomplish its 
object. Before the few people who surrounded the 
sovereign had had time to turn round, and gather 
together their scattered wits, another tremendous 
explosion took place, and, when the smoke had 
dissipated itself, the horrified spectators saw 
Alexander II. on the ground, his cap blown away, 
and his two legs shattered into a thousand frag- 
ments. With the greatest difficulty they lifted 
him up, and placed him in the first sledge that 
could be found, that of a police official. The 
Grand Duke Michael, who had arrived upon the 
scene at this juncture, could just understand his 
brother's words, ' Take me back to the palace ; 

175 



MY RECOLLECTIONS 

I wish to die there.' An officer of the ChevaHers 
Gardes, Count Hendrikoff, who was passing at 
that moment in the street, helped to settle the 
dying monarch in the uncomfortable conveyance^ 
which was the only one at hand, and put his 
own cap upon the Emperor's head. The gloomy 
cortege was driven back to the Winter Palace, 
and a long trail of blood marked its passage. 
Enduring probably agonies, the ruler of eighty 
millions of people was carried to his bed. No 
doctor could be found, and by the time medical 
aid was forthcoming, the unfortunate sovereign 
had passed into a stage where nothing could be 
done. A few short minutes saw the end. 

Whilst his father was being butchered in the 
streets of his capital, the heir to the throne and his 
wife had lunched as usual with their children, and 
immediate entourage. The first explosion, which 
was rather faintly heard, did not excite any un- 
easiness in their minds. As the Empress Marie 
Feodorowna told me herself, they thought it was 
one of the usual guns which are so often fired 
from the fortress whenever there is any reason to 
fear the waters of the Newa are rising. The 
second explosion, however, startled them ; and not 
many minutes elapsed before an officer, riding for 
dear life, appeared in a cab, and rushing, almost 
without being announced, into the presence of the 
Grand Duke, told him what had happened. With- 
out waiting for their own carriage to be got ready, 
Alexander III. and his wife jumped into the vehicle 
which had brought the officer, and without being 

176 



ST. PETERSBURG AFTER THE CRIME 

recognised by the crowd, who had akeady begun 
to fill the streets, were driven to the AVinter 
Palace. When they entered it, all was nearly 
over. 

I have a letter from my father, who was there, 
graphically describing the sight the palace presented ; 
the despair, and, at the same time, the visible satis- 
faction which some people could not conceal at 
the turn events had taken. The Imperial family 
gradually assembled by the bedside of their head. 
As the Grand Duchess Wladimir told a friend, 
there was nothing to be seen on it but a red mass, 
from which a few faint groans were heard to 
issue. The Princess Youriewski was tearing her 
hair, and giving way to the utmost despair. Count 
Loris, gloomy and silent, was probably thinking 
of the disgrace which he knew but too well was 
hovering over his head. On the vast square in 
front of the palace the crowd was growing thicker 
and thicker, in an attitude which was a mixture 
of consternation and horror, with an under- current 
of threat. In the different barracks troops were 
gathered together, and at half-past five had already 
taken the oath to the new sovereign, whilst in the 
corridors and halls, leading to Alexander II.'s 
apartments, all his military and civil household had 
assembled, in expectation of the end. At four 
o'clock the doors of the dead Emperor's bedroom 
were opened, and his successor came out with the 
young Empress leaning on his arm. A loud cheer 
greeted him, to which he imposed silence with an 
authoritative wave of the hand, and slowly, with 

177 N 



MY RECOLLECTIONS 

his handkerchief over his eyes, he proceeded to 
the private chapel, where a short service was cele- 
brated ; then, amidst a respectful, and this time 
silent, crowd, he, who was now Alexander III., 
drove back, without an escort, in an open sledge 
to his own palace. 

The next morning saw the oath administered 
to the household, and an innumerable crowd. Of 
the events that followed, it is not in the limits 
of this book to speak. Very shortly after the 
accession of the new Emperor, he promulgated the 
famous manifesto in which he affirmed solemnly 
his attachment to the principles of autocracy. This 
was followed by the resignation of Count Loris 
and two of his colleagues, and the Emperor, acting 
under the advice of his former tutor, M. Pobedo- 
nostseff. Procurator of the Holy Synod, called 
Count Ignatiev to the difficult post of Minister 
of the Interior. This appointment was received 
with a shout of exasperation by Europe, who took 
it as an act of defiance, and as a sign that the new 
sovereign was determined upon a warlike policy 
in the East, as well as with consternation by a cer- 
tain section of society in Russia. To the intense 
surprise, however, of those who had imagined that 
Count Ignatiev would inaugurate a system of severe 
autocratic government, he was, on the contrary, the 
first to propose measures so Hberal that, in con- 
sequence of them, he was dismissed from office. 

In the summer of the year 1880 my eldest son 
was born, and, at the same time, my husband's 

178 



VENICE AND CORFU 

health became indifferent, so that at last the 
doctors advised him to try a long journey to the 
East in order to recover his strength. After hav- 
ing left our children with my grandmother we 
started for Venice, where we spent some time in 
August, 1881. It was my first glimpse of Italy, 
and of course I fell instantly under the charm tiiis 
marvellous country never fails to exercise over all 
lovers of nature and art. From Venice we went to 
Corfu. At that time the palace of the Empress 
of Austria was only in course of construction, but 
it was easy to understand the fascination which 
these shores exercised over the romantic mind of 
Elizabeth of Bavaria. There is something in the 
shade of the sky, the blue of the waters, the 
colours of the trees, shrubs, and vegetation which 
suggests such absolute repose, such calm, such 
peace, that it is not difficult to imagine it must 
appeal to every troubled, anxious, or restless souL 
Had I my wish I should also like to have a villa 
at Corfu, if only to be able to spend a few days 
every year in that earthly paradise. 

From Corfu we went to Constantinople, reach- 
ing the Dardanelles on the very night on which began 
the Ramazan. As our ship had stopped waiting for 
its patent of health to be vise and signed, the first 
gun was fired which announced that the hour for 
breaking the fast had struck. At the some moment 
the hills became ablaze with a hundred fires, and 
the slow, singing voice of the muezzin was heard 
calling from the minarets of the mosques the 
faithful to prayer. It was the first time these 

179 



MY RECOLLECTIONS 

accents 1 was to hear so otten later on, resounded 
to my ears, and even now I feel their charm as 
potently as I did on that summer evening. The 
air was soft with that peculiar softness unknown 
anywhere else ; the sky was full of stars, and the 
moon was spreading its rays over the weird scene* 
It was one of those perfect moments in life which 
remain engraved in letters of fire on the mind and 
in the head, as well as in the heart, and which 
mark a lull in all the strifes and agitations of 
existence. 

The next morning the splendours of Constanti- 
nople burst upon our eyes, as the town slowly rose 
under the varied lights and shadows of the rising 
sun ; and nothing in the world exceeds the beauty 
of this spectacle. 

As our ship anchored we were met by Count 
Corti, our old friend of the Congress, who, after a 
short rest at the Hotel d'Angleterre, the famous 
Missiri, so well known to all travellers, took us up 
to his house on the Bosphorus, at Therapia, where 
I spent three of what to me certainly were 
among the happiest weeks in my hfe. 



180 



CHAPTER XI. 

Stay at Constantinople — Different Sights — Life on the Bos- 
phorus — Lord and Lady Dufferin — The Corps Diplo- 
matique — Osman and Mukhtar Pacha — Departure for 
Russia. 

I DO not know what Constantinople is to-day. 
In 1881 life on the banks of the Bosphorus was 
certainly most amusing. All the embassies were 
scattered for the summer at Therapia or Buyukdere, 
and a constant interchange of visits between the 
different members of the diplomatic corps made 
time pass very pleasantly. The Italian Embassy, 
as I have said already, was at Therapia, and we 
were given lovely rooms with a terrace opening 
on to a garden. 

The very day we landed at Constantinople I 
was taken to the harem of some Turkish official, 
and met there for the first time Lady Dufferin, 
then quite young and lovely. It was a curious 
meeting, for we had never seen each other before, 
and as there was no one to introduce us to each 
other we had to make the best of it alone. She also 
had only just arrived at Constantinople, so it was 
a new experience for us both, and I think we were 
both wondering how we should get away from our 
hostesses, for it is no easy thing to escape from a 

181 



MY RECOLLECTIONS 

Turkish harem when once one is in it. The good 
ladies expect a visit to last a whole day, not to 
speak of an afternoon. 

Of course, we did all the sights of the Bosphorus, 
went to the sweet waters of Asia and Europe, 
rambled in the Bazaar — more wonderful at that 
time than it is now, and not quite so much invaded 
with Cook's tourists and Manchester goods ; we 
rode in the forest of Belgrade, were rowed by moon- 
light in a caique on the Bosphorus, and inspected 
the old walls and the remains of the famous castle 
of the Seven Towers. In the evening we either 
dined out, or went to a dance or entertainment 
of some kind, or else Count Corti had friends 
to dine with him at the Embassy. It was an 
amusing, an interesting life, and at the same time 
not an idle life by any means, for, besides the 
wonderful sights one saw every day, nothing could 
be more interesting than to watch politics in 
Turkey during the years which followed upon 
the war. 

Of course, we went to see St. Sophia. Also, 
of course, we were taken to see the famous 
Treasury, where all the jewels of the Sultan are 
kept. We went there with the Dufferins, and 
in consequence were received with all honours, 
and accorded facilities which we probably would 
never have obtained had we been sight-seeing on 
our own account. It was a most curious expe- 
dition : an aide-de-camp of the Sultan received us, 
and at the doors of the old Seraglio a whole 
regiment of most horrible white eunuchs was 

182 



THE SULTAN'S TREASURES 

waiting for us. They first took us to the Trea- 
sury, where we examined a curious collection of 
costumes belonging to all the dead and gone 
Sultans; the display of precious stones on them 
was something quite marvellous. I remember in 
particular one dagger of which the handle was 
composed of one single emerald. It really looked 
almost like a bit of glass, so huge it was. Then 
there was a throne all inlaid with turquoises and 
rubies, and I have already forgotten how many 
wonderful things. 

I tried to start a conversation with the aide-de- 
camp who was piloting us, and after much 
trouble and the exhaustion of every language I 
knew, I found out at last that he understood 
Russian, and that he was a Tartar of Kazan, who, 
during the war, had deserted the Russian ranks to 
join his brethren in religion. Considering that my 
own property was in that part of the world, it was a 
most curious thing to meet him. He did not 
speak much Russian, and the little he did was not 
sufficient to make him understand the meaning of 
the words he used, and so, to my intense amuse- 
ment, when we said good-bye, he turned gravely 
to me and said, ' Ya was nikodga ne zabuduj 
which means ' I shall never forget you.' Con- 
sidering he was a Moslem, who are supposed 
never to make a compliment to a woman, this ex- 
pression of feeling amused my husband and myself 
exceedingly. 

One of the sights of Constantinople was, of 
course, the weekly ride of the Sultan to the 

183 



MY RECOLLECTIONS 

mosque to perform his devotions. Formerly a 
different place of worship was chosen every week, 
but Abdul Hamid, always afraid for his safety, only 
went to the little mosque of Bechiktasch, close to 
the Imperial Kiosk of Yildiz, where he lived. 
Opposite to it is a kind of guard -room, on the 
steps of which strangers are put to look upon the 
cortege. We were told to arrive early, but though 
it was barely ten o'clock when we reached the 
place, escorted by a kavass of the Embassy, and 
though the ceremony was fixed for eleven, we 
found the whole square in front of the mosque 
already occupied by troops. It was a most curious 
spectacle — such a wealth of colours, such a variety 
of uniforms, and such different types of people. 
After a long wait, shouts proclaimed the arrival of 
the Sultan. He appeared, mounted on a white 
horse, a dark, solemn figure, impassible under his 
red fez, with its diamond aigrette. Not a muscle 
of his face moved whilst he dismounted, and was 
greeted by the cheers of his troops. His face, 
though fine, struck one by its weak chin and sad 
expression. When he had disappeared within the 
mosque, the officers and high officials who had 
accompanied or escorted him dispersed on the 
square, and some of them came into the guardroom 
where we were ; among them Moukhtar Pacha and 
the famous Osman, the hero of Plevna. He was 
still lame from the wound received during the last 
days of the siege, but the face had lost the hunted 
look which was so painful to look upon in those 
dark days. We started talking of that memorable 

184 



THE HERO OF PLEVNA 

time, and I told him how very much the Russian 
troops had admired him, and how sorry we all 
were for him. He seemed pleased to find his 
defence had been appreciated, and then we spoke 
of SkobelefE ' Ah ! he is a brave man,' exclaimed 
Osman ; ' he is a hero,' and learning I was a cousin 
of the Russian General he called to Moukhtar 
Pacha and told him so, after which the conversation 
became general between us three. Moukhtar 
Pacha, whom I was to meet a few years later at 
Cairo, was very different from his rival, Osman. 
He was tall, thin, with a serious countenance, and 
manners which were a great deal more polished 
and refined, also with a good knowledge of French, 
which was not the case with the hero of Plevna. 
But Osman 's face was the more energetic, and 
the more sympathetic of the two. He looked 
what he was — a man who would say very little, 
but do a gi*eat deal — who, whatever difficulties 
he might encounter, would always perform his 
-duty. 

The Sultan remained over an hour in the 
mosque. When he came out at last all the Pachas 
and officers gathered round him, and, standing on 
the steps, he reviewed the troops. They were 
remarkable battalions that passed before him, 
stalwart, strong men, whose presence made one 
understand the resistance Russia had found. The 
black regiments were magnificent — they all appeared 
real soldiers, with all the go and courage which 
distinguishes them when they are, so to say, born 
to the trade. 

185 



MY RECOLLECTIONS 

The review was over in about half an hour, 
after which a sort of open phaeton, harnessed with 
a pair of splendid brown horses, was brought 
round. The Sultan placed himself in it, and after 
having called Osman Pacha, and made him sit by 
his side, took the reins himself and drove slowly 
away, amidst the shouts and cheers of the troops 
and crowd. His appearance left one with the 
impression of something unfinished, of the flitting 
shadow, either of a past fast dying away, or of a 
future not yet conquered or even grasped. It was 
all like a dream taken out of the Arabian Nights. 
As a dream it passed, and as a dream it has re- 
mained among the reminiscences of the men and 
places I have seen. 

Our stay in Constantinople lasted three weeks, as 
I think I have said already. During that time we saw 
a great deal of the DufFerins. Lord DufFerin was, 
what he always remained to the very end of his 
life, one of the most charming of men — full of wit, 
humour, spirit, of an unfailing tact, and a courtesy 
which was unrivalled. He was popular everywhere^ 
and with everybody ; his colleagues appreciated 
the loyal way in which he collaborated with them 
and helped them in the innumerable difficulties 
which make of Constantinople such a difficult post. 
In society he was worshipped by women and liked 
by men, and he could be described as one of the 
cleverest and most remarkable diplomats of whom 
England can boast. 

Lady Dufferin was one of the loveliest women. 
186 



LADY DUFFERIN 

of her generation, and kept her good looks for a 
longer time than her sex generally does. She was 
a worthy helpmate of her illustrious husband: not 
so brilliantly clever, perhaps, but invariably well 
bred, courteous, amiable ; gifted, too, with unusual 
tact. Their house was the one at which most 
entertainments were given. It constituted an 
unique centre of society, and the warm welcome 
extended by the host and hostess has, I am sure, 
never been forgotten by those who have had the 
privilege of enjoying it. 

Among the interesting people who were at 
Constantinope at that time was Julian Klaczko, 
the author, who had just then left the Austrian 
diplomatic service, and who dined one night at 
Count Corti's. He was a pleasant, intelligent 
man, too much imbued with Polish ideas for me 
to sympathise with him thoroughly, but interest- 
ing in his conversation. Another person was the 
correspondent of the Times newspaper, Mr. (at 
present Sir) Donald Mackenzie Wallace, who is 
so well known in London society, and whom his 
book upon Russia had already made famous at 
the time I am writing of. He and I struck up a 
friendship which lasted for twenty years, and [ 
certainly never imagined that anything could break 
it. At the present moment I do not know whether 
it still exists or not. 

It was with a deep feeling of grief that I took 
leave of Count Corti. No host could have been 
kinder, more anxious for his guests' comforts than. 

187 



MY RECOLLECTIONS 

he showed himself to be, and his wit and clever- 
ness made a sojourn under his roof a delightful 
thing. I never met him again ; he died shortly 
afterwards, after having been transferred as Am- 
bassador to London, which had been the object of 
his ambition for years, but in which he was dis- 
appointed. ' London is no more what it was in 
my young days,' he wrote to me, a few weeks 
after having arrived there; 'society has changed, 
manners also ; one sees quantity of new faces 
whom one feels have got no right to be there, 
and at the risk of being called old-fashioned, I 
must own I hked better to go to the receptions 
of Lady Palmerston or Lady Jersey than to those 
of Lady Rothschild or INIrs. BischofFsheim.' He 
did not stay in London long. Whether it was 
•disappointment or the climate, certain it was that 
he died a very short time after his return to the 
banks of the Thames, sincerely mourned by all 
those who knew him. 

It was with a heavy heart I embarked one fine 
September morning, on a French Messageries 
Maritimes steamer for Odessa. I was going to 
my father's, but in spite of the joy of this reunion 
with him, it was quite a wrench to tear myself 
away from all the associations of these three 
weeks. Though I have twice since that mem- 
orable summer returned to Constantinople, I 
never found in it the pleasure I had enjoyed 
during my first visit there. The Bosphorus re- 
mained the same, the beauties of Stamboul were 
unchanged, but all the people with whom I had 

188 



THE GLAMOUR OF YOUTH 

been happy were either dead or gone, and my 
youth was also gone, with its power of enjoyment 
and that marvellous exuberance which makes it 
such a wonderful, beautiful thing. Eyes of 
twenty look at life, men, and things with rose 
spectacles, which unfortunately are but too soon 
discarded. 



189 



CHAPTER XII. 

My First Winter at St. Petersburg — The Emperor Alex- 
ander III. and the Empress — Russian Society at the 
Beginning of their Reign — General Ignatiev and his 
struggle zoith General Tcherewine — The Zemski Sobor — 
Fall of Ignatiev — General Skobeleff and his Speeches — 
His Death in Moscoxo. 

When we left Constantinople we went straight to 
St. Petersburg, where my father and my grand- 
mother, with whom my children had been staying 
whilst we were travelling, were settled. We found 
the town almost empty as regards the gay part 
of it — it was October, the dull season of the 
year — but full to overflowing with the delegates 
to the various commissions Count Ignatiev had 
called together upon taking the direction of affairs. 
Things were stiU very unsettled, and people cowed 
by the atrocious crime of the 13th of March. 

Yet, though sympathy was expressed with the 
murdered Emperor, it was remarkable how little 
regret was felt for him. Even among Court circles 
relief was, if not openly expressed, at least hinted 
at. The Princess Youriewski, between whom and 
the Imperial family painful scenes had taken place, 
was living in a palace that had been bought for 
her by the new sovereign, and making herself as im- 
portant as she could. The young Court had almost 
immediately after the murder of Alexander II. 

190 



THE COURT AT GATSCHINA 

retired to the castle of Gatschina, an Imperial 
residence which had not been used since the time 
of Paul I., and there they lived in absolute seclu- 
sion, surrounded by a very small circle of friends, 
and almost completely cut off from the outer 
world. This did not please the pubhc, though 
no one in Russia seriously entertained the idea, 
so general abroad, that this avoidance of the world 
was due to fear. 

Alexander III. was not a coward, but he 
did not care for society, and even when quite a 
young man had preferred his fireside to the 
general amusements in which young men 
generally indulge. He hated everything like 
pomp and show, and really cared only for his 
wife and children. He also felt in a certain 
sense his utter insufficiency to meet the great 
problems and questions he was suddenly called 
upon to face. As heir to the throne, he had seen 
a great deal of the intrigues which during the 
reign of his father made the Russian Court such 
a centre of corruption. He had looked with 
loathing upon different men and women who 
occupied great positions, not through their talents, 
but on account of certain private influences. The 
Emperor came upon the throne with one idea 
only, that of surrounding himself with entirely 
honest men. He reahsed that wish, but, as every- 
thing else in this world, it turned out to have 
two sides, and though no accusation of dishonesty, 
or even of indelicacy, could be brought forward 
against those whom he honoured with his con- 

191 



MY RECOLLECTIONS 

fidence, yet they often did him incalculable harm 
with the narrow-mindedness of their ideas and 
opinions. 

I have said already that the general public did 
not look with favourable eyes on the seclusion in 
which the sovereign lived at Gatschina. If the 
truth must be told, it was not a happy idea that 
led to the choice of this residence. 

Gatschina, as the private country seat of a noble- 
man, would be an ideal place. The palace is large, 
and if not quite so comfortable as it might be in its 
interior arrangements, yet could be easily altered 
in that respect. The park is immense, more like 
a forest than anything else, and affording splendid 
shooting. Alexander III., always fond of fresh 
air and exercise, could indulge there in his favourite 
pastimes without fear of being disturbed or in- 
truded upon. I have been told by persons who 
knew him well that it was these considerations 
which made him fix upon Gatschina as a residence, 
and I am fully persuaded this is the truth, but 
unfortunately as time went on, and he spent the 
greater part of the year shut away from his sub- 
jects, a certain legend began to form itself about 
it. Russia had not been used to see its sovereigns 
seclude themselves from their subjects. The 
Emperor Nicholas I. had gone about like a private 
gentleman, admitting not only those who were 
living in the upper circles of society, but also the 
middle classes, to the privilege of approaching 
him. He was devoted to masked balls, which 
he used to attend alone, very angry if any 

192 



ALEXANDER III. 

one ventured to recognise him, and listening to 
all he could hear. Alexander II., though not 
quite so fond of making himself personally popular, 
still had never secluded himself from the world, 
which, on the contrary, he had passionately loved. 
He also entertained on a great scale. But Alex- 
ander III. resolutely shut his doors against all 
strangers, and only a select circle of about ten 
or twelve people had direct intercourse with him. 
His ministers even were kept at a distance, and 
were not always asked to stay for lunch when they 
came to Gatschina with their reports. The 
Empress, who was devoted to society, and loved 
dancing almost passionately, used to indulge in 
her favourite pastime during the short and always 
remarkably brilliant weeks of the St. Petersburg 
season, but the Imperial couple never entertained 
any one outside the small group of friends 
I have already mentioned. This made them 
enemies. 

Alexander III. was, unlike his father, who 
posed for the man imbued with Occidental 
opinions, a typical Russian. He disliked speaking 
any foreign language, and it was mainly through 
his influence that Russian began once more to 
be talked in society, which, up to his accession 
had exclusively conversed in French or German. 
He was fervently Orthodox, and his one aim re- 
mained, all through the thirteen years he occupied 
the throne, to make Russia a strong nation, re- 
spected throughout the length and breadth of 
Europe. It is said he disliked Germans. It is 

193 o 



MY RECOLLECTIONS 

possible this was the case, but he never would 
have launched into an anti-German agitation. He 
took up the French alliance, not because of his 
personal sympathies, but because he firmly be- 
lieved it to be necessary towards maintaining the 
European equilibrium, damaged by the Triple 
Alliance. He detested the policy of Prince Bis- 
marck more than he disliked the man himself; 
for whom indeed he had a great respect. His 
amiabilities towards France did not proceed from 
his heart, but from his reason. The man was not 
brilliant, and could hardly even be called clever, 
but he had an extraordinary amount of common 
sense, and this common sense invariably inspired 
him to act in the best interests of his country. 
He found Russia in a chaos, and when he 
died he left the country in a far more prosperous 
condition than it had been for a long time, and 
with Nihilism almost extinct. He made him- 
self popular, in his own strange way, among 
all classes of society ; and when he died little 
children and women wept in the streets, so con- 
vinced was the whole nation that he had loved 
it, worked for it, and spared neither his time 
nor his strength, in order to make it great and 
prosperous. 

The Empress contributed to his popularity; it 
would be difficult to imagine anything more at- 
tractive than she was, or is to the present day. 
Marie Feodorowna does not say much, but every 
word she utters is full of that genuine sympathy 
which goes so far to make those who possess 

194 



COUNT IGNATIEV 

it popular and beloved. It was enough to see 
her enter a room to love her; it was impossible 
to resist the spell of those dark, beautiful eyes, 
so soft and kind. She was the guardian angel 
of the throne, which she occupied with such 
dignity. 

But to come back to that eventful year, 1881. 

As soon as Count Ignatiev took in hand the 
direction of home affairs he called together various 
commissions, to consider education and schools, the 
regulation of the liquor traffic, and sundry other 
questions, the discussion of which would, he hoped, 
bring about in time some change in the inner 
workings of the administration. In a certain sense 
the attempt was successful ; but, later on, when 
Count Ignatiev tried to call together a kind of 
Parliament, he found himself confronted with the 
personal disgust and repugnance of Alexander III. 
towards that type of assembly, and he fell into a 
disgrace he has never got over. 

But in November, 1881, the Count was all- 
powerful. He knew how to make the most 
of his position and advantages. He flattered the 
intelligent classes of society with the promise of 
things of which, perhaps, he did not quite realise 
himself the impossibility, and he appealed to the 
sovereign's patriotism, to help him in the diflicult 
task of crushing Nihilism, and restoring to the 
country the equanimity which had been so rudely 
shaken by the catastrophe of March 13th. 

We had intended, at first, to make but a short 
stay in St. Petersburg, but one of our children 

195 



MY RECOLLECTIONS 

sickened with typhoid fever, and this obHged us to 
remain for such a long time in the Russian capital 
that, at last, we made up our minds to take a 
house, and remain there for the whole winter. I 
was glad of this opportunity of staying among 
my own people, and so Christmas Day found us 
settled in a furnished and most uncomfortable 
house, about three doors from the one in which my 
grandmother lived. 

Of course we asked to be presented to the 
new sovereigns, and it may be interesting to relate 
here how this presentation took place, especially 
as I believe that the ceremonial observed on 
such occasions has considerably changed since that 
time. 

We received one morning notice that the Em- 
peror would receive my husband at eleven o'clock 
on such-and-such a day, at the palace of Gatschina, 
and that the Empress would see me at the same 
time. We started by an unearthly early train, 
something like half-past eight, which necessitated 
getting up by candle-light. When we reached 
the Warsaw railway -station we found several 
diplomats, among them the Roumanian Minister, 
M. Kretzulesco, and his wife ; and the Bavarian 
Minister, Baron Rudhardt, also with his wife. A 
chamberlain in uniform received us, and con- 
ducted us to a specially reserved railway carriage, 
and at about ten o'clock we reached Gatschina. 
There carriages awaited us, and we were driven 
to the palace, where lackeys in livery came to meet 
us, and showed us to a separate suite of rooms, 

196 



AN AUDIENCE WITH THE EMPRESS 

where we were offered coffee and tea. After a 
rather dreary waiting a servant appeared, and told 
my husband the Emperor was waiting for him. 
He left me, and I was taken, in my turn, to a 
drawing-room, together with two other ladies, and 
another waiting followed ; then the wives of the 
two ministers were introduced, in turn, in the 
presence of the sovereign. Their audience lasted 
what to me appeared a long time, and at last I was 
called in. 

I found the Empress standing in the middle 
of a large room, furnished with yellow damask, 
and having as only ornament a life-size portrait 
of the Empress Alexandra Feodorowna, nee Prin- 
cess Charlotte of Prussia, the wife of Nicholas I. 
A large sofa was placed almost under the picture, 
and it was on this sofa the Empress made me sit 
down beside her. It was the first time I had ever 
spoken with her, and I was agreeably surprised 
by her unaffected manner and the kindness of her 
attitude. It was then she related to me the de- 
tails about the 13th of March, which I have men- 
tioned in another chapter. She spoke of her 
children, some books she had read, among others 
Taine's Ancien Regime, and altogether chatted for 
about twenty minutes or so. When she dis- 
missed me I spoke of my hope of being in Russia, 
and in Moscow during the coronation, but a sort 
of shadow seemed to pass over her countenance, 
and she answered, as if the subject was a painful 
one, 'Ah, nous sommes encore loin de cela.' When 
I came out I was asked, of course, how I had 

197 



MY RECOLLECTIONS 

found the young sovereign, and I could only ex- 
press my deep admiration for her. But, indeed, 
who has ever seen Marie Feodorowna without 
becoming at once and for ever her most devoted 
slave ? 

Of course during that winter there was no kind 
of gaiety going on in St. Petersburg. The whole 
nation was in mourning; but the absence of any 
official entertainments did not prevent people from 
meeting almost daily in one place or another^ 
and the deliberations of the commissions I have 
already mentioned were watched with almost pain- 
ful interest. The salon of Countess Ignatiev was 
open every evening, and one was sure to meet 
there every person of importance in the Russian 
capital, as well as all foreigners, and the numerous 
people whom one reason or another had brought 
to town from the provinces. These evenings were 
most interesting, and I do not think there have 
ever been any like them since in St. Petersburg. 
Countess Ignatiev, a charming, clever, and at that 
time, still a most beautiful woman, possessed the 
art of entertaining, and the great interest which 
attached to every word of her illustrious husband 
gave an additional reason for being eager to 
go to their house. Count Ignatiev was still the 
idol of the Panslavists, the man who had been 
able to checkmate Turkey, and whose treaty of 
San Stefano, had it been ratified, would have 
answered to all the aspirations and hopes of the 
Russian people. In spite of the failure with which 
the policy of which he had been the representative 

198 



A PATRIOTIC RUSSIAN STATESMAN 

had met at Berlin, he had escaped the unpopularity 
which had dogged the steps of the members of 
the Government. The semi-disgrace in which he 
had fallen, after the Treaty of San Stefano had 
been signed by Turkey and rejected by the 
Powers, had only added to his prestige. He was 
credited with an intense patriotism, as well as 
with liberal tendencies. Personally I always had 
a great liking for Count Ignatiev. He was among 
my best friends, and, though I could not fail to 
recognise in him the failings which all those who 
like him must deplore, yet I do think that he 
has had more than any Russian statesman of 
modern times a clear conception of his country's 
needs and his country's strength. He always up- 
held its flag, and in that respect was a unique 
exception among our diplomats. He understood, 
what Englishmen have always understood, that 
whenever one of his countrymen was attacked 
it was Russia itself to whom the gauntlet was 
thrown down. In that respect he must be con- 
sidered, as I have said already, an exception 
among those responsible for the government of 
his country. 

About the end of November of that same 
year, St. Petersburg was startled by the news of 
the attempted assassination of General Tcherewine, 
at that time head of the secret department of 
police in the Home Ministry. We heard of it at 
dinner the same night, through my uncle, who was 
a member of one of Count Ignatiev's commissions, 
and who brought us the tale. My grandmother 

199 



MY RECOLLECTIONS 

was very much startled ; she belonged to those who 
did not believe in Nihilist inactivity, and began 
prophesying that this new attempt was only the 
prelude to another series of the same crimes. 
Later on, when General Tcherewine became one 
of my best friends, he told me himself all the 
details of this ghastly adventure. The attempted 
murderer, a young Jew, came to the General with 
a letter; whilst the latter opened it, he noticed 
the young man putting his hand in his pocket, 
and heard the click of a revolver. Tcherewine 
was one of the coolest characters one could find. 
He merely turned towards his would-be assassin 
and said : ' Drop this nonsense, I know what you 
want to do ; give me that revolver and I will let 
you go.' The young man's reply was to take out 
his pistol and to fire. The bullet went through 
the General's coat, flattening itself against a 
cigarette case he had in his pocket. Tcherewine 
threw himself upon his aggressor, and in the 
struggle which followed they both fell on the floor. 
Hearing the noise, one of the clerks at work in the 
next room opened the door, but, seeing the two 
men grasping with each other, began screaming at 
the top of his voice and ran away, without even 
attempting to come to the help of his chief. It 
was only after a few minutes that some poUce 
agents were got upon the scene and arrested the 
author of the murderous attempt. Tcherewine 
put on his uniform, and went at once to Gatschina 
to report the occurrence to the Emperor. 

I have related in full this incident because it led 
200 



GENERAL TCHEREWINE 

to great events. One was the disgrace of Count 
Ignatiev, the other the extreme favour in which 
General Tcherewine was taken by Alexander III., 
as well as his appointment to the head of the 
secret police of the whole Empire, which made 
him responsible for the personal safety of the 
sovereign, whom he never left afterwards. This 
position made of him the most powerful person- 
age in Russia, and it is certain no one in that 
country has ever wielded more power than did 
the General for fourteen years : a power which 
resisted even a change of reign, and lasted until 
his own death. Count Ignatiev had never been 
on very good terms with General Tcherewine, 
the characters of the two men being absolutely 
different, and antipathetic to each other. One 
was above everything a diplomat ; the other, on 
the contrary, a plain speaker who never lacked 
for words to express what he thought was the 
truth. He was bound to become the favourite 
of a sovereign like Alexander III., whose greatest 
quality was precisely the love of truth. The two 
men had been friends for a long time, and the 
Empress never forgot how the General had been 
ready to resign his position and career, because he 
had been the cause of an annoyance to her, 
as I have related in a preceding chapter. It was 
he who had accompanied the young Grand Duchess 
in that drive which had so irritated Alexander 
II. When she ascended the throne the new 
Empress made it her business to show her grati- 
tude to the General, and undoubtedly it was to 

201 



MY RECOLLECTIONS 

her that he owed, in great part, the position he 
was to rise to. 

The relations between the General and his 
immediate chief, Count Ignatiev, which at first 
were cool, not to say strained, became posi- 
tively hostile, after the pistol-shot that had so 
nearly killed Tcherewine. He was the first to 
perceive that his continuance in the post he 
occupied was quite impossible, and he resigned 
without giving notice to his chief, but by simply 
informing the Emperor that he could not con- 
tinue in office. Alexander III.'s reply to this was 
to appoint his favourite to the post of head of his 
immediate bodyguard. This led to new friction 
with Ignatiev, and from that moment war was 
declared between the two men ; a war which lasted 
until Tcherewine overthrew his rival in May of 
the following year. 

It happened in this way. Ignatiev had sub- 
mitted to the Emperor a plan for calling together 
in St. Petersburg representatives of all classes of 
society in order to discuss the reforms which all 
felt were necessary in the government of the 
country. This meeting was to be held in imi- 
tation of those old ones which, in the bygone 
times of Russian history, were held among the 
Boyars assembled in consultation together with 
the Czar. It was to be called by the ancient name 
of Zemski Sobor, sacred to the readers of history, 
as well as to the lovers of ancient Russian 
traditions. At first the plan had been accepted 
by the Emperor, but soon (and here it was that 

202 



COUNT TOLSTOI 

Tcherewine's influence began to be felt) he re- 
fused his consent to it under the pretext that 
people would see in this calling together of a 
council to discuss the needs of the nation, a step 
towards the granting of those Constitutional liber- 
ties which he had made up his mind never to 
accord. Frictions ensued, and at last Count Igna- 
tiev, who had — a circumstance most extraordinary 
in a man of his intelligence — never realised that 
his position was shaken, offered to resign. The 
Emperor said nothing, but the very next day 
the news that Count Tolstoi had been appointed 
Minister surprised the whole of Russia, and no 
one more so than the man to whose place he was 
succeeding. 

Count Tolstoi — the statesman, not the novelist 
— was, without exception, the most unpopular man 
in Russia. He had been for a long time Minister 
for Public Education, and had distinguished him- 
self by what people said were the most intolerant 
measures of repression of every liberal spirit in the 
conduct of schools and Universities. Alexander II. 
had been obliged to yield to public opinion which 
clamoured for his dismissal, and after having held 
for some time the post of Procurator of the Holy 
Synod, he had at last been compelled to retire into 
private life. It was to this man, hated, anathe- 
matised by almost every class of society, that 
Alexander III. confided the destinies of his Em- 
pire, at a time when it seemed that that Empire 
was crumbling away. 

And the choice turned out to have been a wise 
203 



MY RECOLLECTIONS 

one. Count Tolstoi showed himself a man who 
understood the needs of his country, and, given a 
free hand, exhibited none of that despotic spirit 
which had made him so universally disliked before. 
His administration was a good one, and, until he 
died, Russia enjoyed a period of prosperity such as 
she had not known for a long time. 

Count Tolstoi was distantly related to my 
mother. He was at daggers drawn with my two 
uncles, and in consequence of it my grandmother's 
relations with him were strained. But this did not 
interfere with mine with his wife and daughter, 
who were among my best friends in St. Petersburg. 
The Countess Tolstoi always showed me invariable 
kindness, and the Count himself also was amiable, 
and often helped me by his advice. 

When the Emperor called him back to power, 
Count Tolstoi, who had never imagined he could 
again play a part in the public life of his country, 
hesitated for some time before accepting. It was 
then, I think, that General Tcherewine interfered, 
and explained to him what was required from his 
patriotism by Alexander HL As soon as he 
realised how matters stood, Count Tolstoi's resolu- 
tion was taken, and he put his services at the 
-disposal of his sovereign. 

Whilst these negotiations were going on, and 
whilst town was ringing with the news that a few 
short days would see the end of Count Ignatiev's 
administration, he seemed to be the only person 
not aware of the change which was going to take 
place in his destinies, as well as in those of his 

204 



THE COUNTESS IGNATIEV 

country. The Countess went on with her evening 
receptions, no longer held in town, but at a villa in 
one of the islands which surround St. Petersburg. 
It was the end of May, or beginning of June ; town 
was emptying itself, and we were also on the point 
of leaving it. The rumours of the impending 
change were, however, so persistent that I thought 
I would drive one evening to the islands, and see 
for myself how things were going on. 

My curiosity was not gratified — things were just 
as usual. The Countess Ignatiev was seated at 
her tea-table, surrounded by a few friends — fewer, 
perhaps, than before — but she seemed to be in high 
spirits, lamenting, at the same time, that her 
husband's duties would keep him in town the whole 
of the summer. He, in his turn, spoke about 
different things which were going to be done, and 
the couple behaved in such a way that driving back 
home I told my husband I really could not believe 
in the gossip that was going on, and that it seemed 
to me that people who were going to be turned out 
could not appear so calm and so secure of their 
position. 

And yet this same evening was the last of 
Count Ignatiev's administration. At the very 
moment we were drinking tea with him and his 
wife, printers were busy putting into type the news 
of his disgrace. It was the next morning that the 
appointment of Count Tolstoi was gazetted, and 
General Tcherewine had a lovely anecdote on this 
subject, the authenticity of which, however, I would 
not care to guarantee. 

205 



MY RECOLLECTIONS 

Ministers, when they went to Gatschina with 
their reports, generally telegraphed to the station- 
master there, to reserve for them a saloon carriage 
in the fast train passing through that station on its 
way to St. Petersburg. On the morning of that 
eventful June day General Tcherewine was told 
that the station-master insisted upon seeing him. 
When introduced, the puzzled official showed to 
the General two telegrams, one asking him to 
reserve a saloon carriage for Count Ignatiev, 
Minister of the Interior, the second one making the 
same request on the part of Count Tolstoi, also 
Minister of the Interior. ' What am I to do ? ' 
exclaimed the unfortunate station-master, ' and who 
is the Minister of the Interior ? ' 

Tcherewine was, as usual, equal to the occasion. 
^ Never mind who is the Minister of the Interior,' 
he replied ; ' satisfy both these gentlemen, and let 
them each have a saloon carriage.' 

After that day cordial relations were never re- 
established between Ignatiev and the author of his 
fall. Animosity, bitter and enduring, divided the 
two men until death carried one of them away. 
I believe I was the only person at whose house 
they met, and then it was always accidentally. 
When such meetings occurred, which I always 
tried to avoid if possible, it was Ignatiev who 
generally went away, reproaching me gently after- 
wards for the ' new friendships,' as he used to caU 
them, which made my house unpleasant for those 
who had frequented it for many years. I used to 
laugh, and teU him nothing would change me 

206 



THE SKOBELEFF INCIDENT 

towards my old friends, but that I would not give 
up the new ones either. I think that at heart 
Ignatiev never quite forgave me for this intrusion 
of his enemy into my home life, and in latter years 
I certainly did not see so much of him as I had done 
formerly, but we continued great friends, and I 
hope if ever he reads this book he will find in it the 
expression of the great regard I have for him. 

During that same winter St. Petersburg was 
startled by what was called the SkobelefF incident. 
General Skobeleff was certainly at that time the 
most popular personage in the Empire. His name 
had become, since the Turkish War, the personifica- 
tion of eveiything that was heroic, and his brilliant 
conduct of the campaign in Central Asia, crowned 
with the storming of Geok Tepe, had made him 
the idol of the nation, as he had been for years 
the idol of the army. His influence was immense, 
not only among soldiers, who worshipped him, but 
among the different classes of society. In him the 
hopes of the Russian people reposed ; his was sup- 
posed to be the sword which was destined to lead 
them to victory, and to add to the conquests of 
Peter the Great and Catherine II. SkobelefF was 
all-powerful by the hold he had taken upon the 
imagination of the masses, and certain it is that 
had he wished to throw the weight of his immense 
popularity, and remarkable personality, in favour of 
any political party, that party would have acquired 
an importance which might well have inspired 
the sovereign with fears for the security of his 
throne. 

207 



MY RECOLLECTIONS 

I wish I could describe Skobeleff to my readers, 
as he appeared to my young imagination ; but 
how can I find words eloquent enough to depict 
that heroic figure, so utterly unlike anything seen 
before or after him ? In spite of all his faults, and 
he had many, he will remain the one legendary 
personage of modern Russian history. None be- 
fore, and no one after him, has so completely 
identified himself with the aspirations, hopes, fears, 
joys, and sorrows of the Russian people. He had 
all the virtues, as well as all the vices, of the race 
to which he belonged. In him it was Russia itself 
that had been incarnated. His mind was a re- 
flection of the mind of his countrymen ; he had 
their enthusiasm and he possessed their faith — that 
strong, earnest faith which has enabled Russia to 
withstand so many trials, to overcome such 
numerous difficulties. Skobeleff was undaunted 
as Russians only can be undaunted ; he had many 
of the savage traits of character which are so 
prominent in all Russians, even those belonging to 
the upper classes, and which enable them to with- 
stand so much, under which more civilised people 
would break down and succumb. His energetic 
soul was one that would not admit defeat. He 
was the Bayard of a race which had not yet been 
spoiled by the false civilisation which has destroyed 
so much that is brave, so much that is good, among 
the nations it has laid hold of. 

Archibald Forbes is the man that has given the 
best description of General Skobeleff; the shrewd 
Scotsman grasped in what was really a marvellous 

208 



SKOBELEFF'S REPUTATION 

way the different sides of this complex nature, 
which had in it such a curious blending of tender- 
ness and ferocity, of the noblest qualities, as well 
as of the most violent, unhealthy passions. He 
read with surprising ability the intricacies of a mind 
born great, and rendered greater still by circum- 
stances. His book is the noblest memorial that 
has been raised to the memory of the Russian hero, 
whose name has remained so dear to the hearts of 
all who knew him. 

How dear it was, what a lasting hold it had 
taken on the minds and imagination of the Russian 
nation, is best illustrated by the following anecdote 
which was related to me years after SkobelefF's 
death. One day a friend of mine was riding 
through a village in Southern Russia, a strange 
dog had strayed into it, and was received with 
violent enmity by those of the place. The mon- 
grel, for it was nothing else, put up his teeth, and 
fought a battle in which his assailants were de- 
cidedly worsted. Seeing this, a peasant, whom by 
his demeanour one easily recognised for a former 
soldier, turned to my friend, and pointing to the 
panting animal, ' Look at that dog, Barine,' he 
said, 'isn't it a true SkobelefF?' 

After the war of 1877, the White General, as 
he was called, had always manifested a great in- 
terest in politics, once or twice his attitude in 
regard to the Bulgarian question (there was at 
one time a question of electing him to the govern- 
ment of that Principality) had irritated the 
Government. When he was sent to Central Asia 

209 p 



MY RECOLLECTIONS 

people hoped he would forget all thoughts of 
playing a political role. He was given on his 
return, much to his disgust, for he did not think 
the appointment worthy of him, the command of 
an Army Corps at Minsk, and it was whilst on 
a short leave in St. Petersburg that he made the 
first of the famous speeches which were to have 
such a wide circulation throughout Europe. It 
was on the occasion of the banquet given in com- 
memoration of the storming of Geok Tepe, that 
he gave way to his feelings, and allowed himself 
to express his distrust of German friendship and 
German policy. Newspapers being censored in 
Russia, his exuberant language was not reproduced 
with exactitude, but what came to the knowledge 
of the public was sufficient to add to the popularity 
ot the hero who had given way to it. 

The Government, however, did not see it in 
the same light, and consequent on representations 
made by the German Ambassador, SkobelefF was 
given to understand that such expressions of 
private opinions would not be tolerated for the 
future. Of course he was profoundly irritated by 
these hints. He had always thought himself ill- 
used since some plans of his for reforms in the 
army had been rejected, and he had at heart the 
idea that the Emperor was secretly jealous of 
his popularity. 

His was a nature created for struggle, and 
every-day existence was bound to weigh upon him 
and possibly drive him into discontent. He could 
not be happy in the humdrum of garrison life. He 

210 



MOLTKE AND SKOBELEFF 

wanted something to think of, as well as some- 
thing to do, and besides he was profoundly dis- 
gusted at the turn things had taken at the Congress 
of Berlin. Strange to say, this man whom the 
war had made great, had nevertheless a horror 
of it in spite of its fascination and the scope it 
gave him for employing his rare talents. He was 
at heart a kind man, and the sight of human 
suffering and human woes, had the power to move 
him strangely. He could not forgive those who 
had held in their hands the destinies of Russia at 
Berlin, for not having insisted on a proper reward 
for the heroism of the army, and the spirit of 
self-sacrifice displayed by the whole nation. In 
his opinion, the peace that had been concluded 
was bound to be broken. At some manoeuvres 
he had attended in Berlin, he had allowed some- 
thing of this to escape him, as well as his con- 
viction that the German army was not so invul- 
nerable as some people imagined. I don't know 
whether it was this circumstance, or the fact of 
his speeches, which had made Count Moltke 
so bitter against him, but years after SkobelefFs 
death, in fact a few days after the death of Gam- 
betta, I happened to be sitting next to Count 
Moltke at a dinner in Berlin, and asking him his 
opinion about the disappearance from the political 
stage of the French statesman, got from him 
this reply, ' I was very glad to hear he was 
dead, just as glad as I was when they told me 
Skobeleff was no more!' I shall never forget 
the poor Field Marshal's confusion when I told 

211 



MY RECOLLECTIONS 

him that the White General had been my 
cousin. 

SkobelefF's St Petersburg speech had already 
been sufficiently sensational ; one can imagine there- 
fore the stupefaction of the public when it heard that 
it had been followed by a far more violent one, in 
response to the greetings of a Servian deputation 
in Paris, whither the General had gone in order to 
cool his bad temper. The Emperor was furious, 
and immediately recalled him to St. Petersburg. 
I shall never forget the excitement into which 
society was thrown, nor the different speculations 
of the public as to the fate he would meet on his 
return. His whole family welcomed him at the rail- 
way station, and I remember his aunt, who was also 
mine, old Countess Adlerberg, taking a bouquet 
with her to offer to the returning hero, at which 
everybody laughed. But this demonstration had 
its good side, for it gave to the public the idea that, 
for once, friends had not proved false, as is so 
often the case at a Court. The day after his 
return from Paris, SkobelefF was summoned to 
Gatschina. No one knows what took place during 
this interview between Alexander III. and the 
White General. SkobelefF never spoke about it. 
but it was noticed that he became more morose 
than he had ever been before, and that the melan- 
choly, to which he had more than once given way 
since his mother's tragic death (she was assassinated 
in Bulgaria by a young man whom she had 
brought up, and rescued from misery and star- 
vation), increased to an alarming degree. He 

212 



k 



DEATH OF SKOBELEFF 

made but a short stay in the capital, and returned 
to Minsk, a saddened, disappointed man, with 
the shadow of a great sorrow hanging over his 
head, and the feehng that his hfe was being 
wasted. 

Three or four months passed. It was the end 
of June; we had left St. Petersburg, and were 
settled for the summer in the country. At that 
time, we used to get only two mails a week, and 
the arrival of the postman was always more or 
less of an event. I was standing on the verandah, 
when the bag was brought to me, and as I opened 
the paper the first hues that fell under my eyes 
contained the announcement of the sudden death 
in Moscow of Michael Skobeleff. 

He had been cut off in the splendour of his 
manhood, at a moment's notice, by an implacable 
disease, which strikes its victims with a swift and 
cruel mercilessness. Without preparation, without 
warning, the idol of a whole nation had been car- 
ried away, among the wailings and passionate 
regrets of the people to whose minds he had 
represented an ideal. Mourned by friends, as well 
as regretted by foes, his death was deplored by all 
alike as a national calamity. The whole of Russia 
was shaken by the news that its popular hero was no 
more. In Moscow the expressions of regret, one 
may almost say of despair, surpassed everything 
that had been seen before. People met in silent 
consternation in the streets, shops were closed, 
business suspended, the whole life of the town 
seemed to have died with him. In the hotel, 

213 



MY RECOLLECTIONS 

to which his body had been brought back, crowds 
clustered together, standing for hours outside the 
door, in expectation of the moment when they 
would be admitted to the prayers which, according 
to Russian custom, are celebrated twice a day 
beside a dead person, previous to the funeral. 
During these prayers the sobs of the assistants 
almost drowned the voices of the priests. The 
whole of Russia mourned at SkobeleiF's bier. 



214 



CHAPTER XIII. 

The Death of Madame ch Balzac — Return to Berlin — Silver 
Wedding of the Crown Prince and Princess — Prince 
William of Prussia — The Coronation of the Emperor 
Alexander III. 

It was during the spring of that same year, 1882, 
on Easter Day, that my aunt, Madame de Balzac, 
died. She was akeady far advanced in the 
eighties, and for years had been a great invalid. 
Sad circumstances accompanied her demise, money 
losses and the phantom of angry creditors crowd- 
ing around her death-bed. Her daughter com- 
pletely lost her head, and left the house immediately 
after her mother's funeral. All my aunt's papers 
were thrown away by unscrupulous or careless 
servants, and found their way into a fruiterer's 
shop, where the Vicomte Spoelberch de Lowenjoul 
bought them, editing from their contents the 
wonderful correspondence which has since been 
given to the world. It is an everlasting source of 
regret to me that I was not able to be in Paris 
at that time. I might, perhaps, have been able to 
save some of these family relics, and I would, at 
least, have had the comfort of being with my aunt 
during these last sad days. Her disappearance put 
an end to a chapter in my life of which I have 
only good and noble remembrances. With her 
died one of those rare beings who occasionally 

215 



MY RECOLLECTIONS 

appear in the world to teach it how to get better. 
With her passed away ideas and opinions which 
are no longer heard, and with her death a great 
light went out. 

We spent the summer which followed in 
Russia at my own country place, and late in 
autumn we returned to Berlin. We found it had 
considerably changed during the two years we 
had been away. Prince William of Prussia had 
married, and his personality was beginning to 
make its weight felt in Court circles, and even 
outside them. The hostility which later on was 
going to become so acute between him and his 
father, was already beginning to be noticed by 
the public, and rumours of a disagreement, in 
which the Emperor had almost, if not quite, taken 
the side of his grandson against the latter 's father,^ 
were circulated freely. 

I found the Crown Princess on my return 
struggling against a sense of irritation she did 
not care to own to, but which was visibly 
worrying her. The Prince viewed the situation 
in a calmer mood. His mind was too essen- 
tially practical to allow himself to fret over a 
state of things for which his own career as heir 
to a throne must have, in a certain measure, pre- 
pared him. He had more indulgence in his 
character than the Princess, and, perhaps, less 
ambition. And, then, he did not look seriously 
upon the vagaries of his eldest son, and was so 
confident about his own future that he did not 
care to trouble himself too much about what he 

216 



SECRET RIVALRIES 

considered to be the natural exuberance of a 
youthful mind. In Court circles, however, the 
attitude of Prince William was looked upon as 
threatening to become an important factor in politics. 
There was a tendency to consider him cleverer than 
the Crown Prince, and more German in his 
opinions. Prince Bismarck, with whom he was a 
gi'eat favourite, made it a point to repeat that the 
young man, at present debarred of the means of 
acting independently, had in him every quality 
necessary to the making of a great sovereign ; 
The Chancellor never lost an opportunity of praising 
to WiUiam I. the young man, whom he considered 
as his pupil, and the aged monarch was begin- 
ning to think that in his grandson, and only in 
him, would he find a worthy successor. 

All these secret rivahies were naturally the 
cause of continual frictions, and so upon my return 
to Berlin I found the situation of the royal family 
very different from what it had been two years 
before. 

It was during that winter, which, by reason of 
the celebration of the silver wedding of the Crown 
Prince and Princess, was unusually gay, that I 
became better acquainted with the present ruler of 
Germany. Like all those who approached him, I 
was impressed by his remarkable personality, the 
originality of his mind, and the powerfulness of his 
intelligence. Apart from these qualities. Prince 
WilUam was a most attractive, fascinating man. 
He possessed the gift of personal magnetism, and, 
being a most brilUant talker, he contrived, even in 

217 



MY RECOLLECTIONS 

those days, to convert people to a good many of 
his opinions by the persuasive way in which he 
expressed them. With all his seriousness, there 
was in his nature a boyishness and vitality which 
one could scarcely resist. With all the impetuosity 
of youth, he had in his judgments a maturity 
which was wonderful. He had few illusions, and 
yet there was no cynicism in his appreciations 
of others, whatever there may have been in the 
plans he was even then making for the future. We 
soon became great friends, if the expression can be 
applied to the necessarily formal relations which 
could only exist between us ; but whenever we met, 
and it was often enough during that winter, and 
later on oftener still, we liked to talk together. 
He was at that time very fond of society and 
entertainments, fondness which it was rumoured he 
sometimes carried too far; but whatever truth there 
was in all this gossip, it is certain that his manner 
towards his wife was always irreproachable, and the 
young couple lived, outwardly at least, and I 
believe also in reality, a most happy life. 

The Princess, the kindest woman in the world, 
laboured during these early years under the dis- 
advantage of being almost continually in a delicate 
state of health, which compelled her to live retired 
from society, and it was but natural under the 
circumstances that every friendship her husband 
had with another lady, whoever she might be, 
should be misconstrued by the public. The Princess, 
however, secure in her husband's love, had the 
good sense to shut her ears to gossip. 

218 



THE CROWN PRINCE AND PRINCESS 

Before even Christmas had made its usual 
appearance, society was busy with the preparations 
which were begun to give special eclat to the silver 
wedding of the Crown Prince and Princess. A 
great fancy ball was organized, under the patronage 
of the Empress, and the whole world, at least that 
portion of the world called Court society, became 
absorbed with the repetitions of the various 
quadrilles and the historical procession which were 
to be a special feature in these festivities. Almost 
€very evening rehearsals took place, sometimes in 
one house, sometimes in another, and the amount 
of rivalries, spite, and envy which these rehearsals 
revealed was something quite amazing. It spite of 
it, however, as we were all young, we contrived to 
get a good deal of amusement out of all these 
opportunities of meeting each other, and friend- 
ships were formed which have survived to the 
present day. 

The Crown Princess herself took a great interest 
in these different preparations, and discussed them 
eagerly. A few days before the actual annivei-sary 
I dined at the palace of the Crown Prince, and she 
was full of happy anticipations of the brilliancy of 
the forthcoming pageant. It was a small dinner, 
only my mother-in-law, my husband and myself 
were invited to it, with Prince William and, of 
course, the young Princesses. I sat next to the 
present Emperor of Germany, and this dinner has 
left an impression on my mind by a remark he 
made to me during the course of it. We were 
talking of friends and friendships when Prince 

219 



MY RECOLLECTIONS 

William suddenly said to me, * AVhen one occupies 
certain positions in the world, one ought to try to 
make more dupes than friends.' I remember ex- 
claiming against this enunciation of what I thought 
was an execrable principle, when he interrupted me, 
and added this time quite seriously, ' You will see 
later on what I mean.' The Crown Princess was 
looking on, so I thought it better not to pursue the 
subject, but I have often thought since of this 
remark, which appeared so strange at the time it 
was made, and on the strength of which, I must 
confess, I made a bet with a Russian friend of 
mine, at the time of William II.'s accession, that 
he would very soon get rid of his Chancellor, not- 
withstanding the immense affection which he was 
just then professing for him. 

The wedding-day of the heir to the throne was 
January 25th. About the 20th the different guests 
invited for the occasion began to assemble, and, so 
far as I can remember, a State ball was going to 
take place on January 21st, when we were startled 
on the morning of that day by the news that old 
Prince Charles of Prussia, the Emperor's brother, 
had been taken suddenly ill, and had died in the 
course of a few hours. 

He had lived such a retired life since the death 
of his wife, which had occurred some five or six 
years before, that he was almost forgotten, and the 
first feeling which was occasioned by his unexpected 
demise was anger just as much as consternation. 
The Crown Princess in her disappointment declared 
he had done it on purpose, in order to aggravate 

220 



AN HISTORICAL PAGEANT 

her in death, as he had done in life (they had always 
been more or less at daggers drawn), and suggested 
keeping the event secret for a day or two ; but, of 
course, this could not be thought of, and was said 
more in paradox than in earnest. But I am not 
quite sure that many a fair lady who had spent 
a large sum on a now useless dress, did not secretly 
formulate a wish that the untoward e^^ent might be 
kept from the general knowledge. 

There was, however, nothing to do but for the 
different guests to disperse sadly. The Prince was 
buried at Potsdam, with as little ceremony as 
possible, and with a haste which had nothing edifying 
in it. No sooner were the sad ceremonies connected 
with his funeral at an end, than one began to make 
plans for the celebration of the festivities his death 
had interrupted. 

These were finally fixed for February 25th, 
and on that day really took place one of the most 
splendid pageants I have ever attended. The 
Crown Prince and Princess, after having received 
the congratulations of their friends, took their 
seat on the throne between the Emperor and the 
Empress, and the different processions went past 
them, followed by a succession of quadrilles in 
which the most prominent members of society 
took part. The performance was meant to re- 
produce the Court of Queen Elizabeth, and the 
Queen herself, represented by the Countess Udo 
of Stolberg Wernigerode, whose features were 
supposed to recall those of the illustrious lady 
she personified, appeared in a most gorgeous 

221 



MY RECOLLECTIONS 

costume of red velvet covered with jewels, a. 
vision of magnificence and beauty. She was 
followed by ladies and gentlemen of her Court, 
among whom figured Prince William who was- 
leading Lady Ampthill, the wife of the British 
Ambassador. I was one of those who followed 
in their train, and my partner was the Bavarian 
Minister, Count Lerchenfeld, who with a costume 
of black velvet wore a magnificent Spanish sword 
which had been lent to him by the Regent of 
Bavaria. My own dress was white velvet and 
gold, and if I remember aright was very much 
admired. The procession, after having passed be- 
fore the throne, took up its place opposite to it 
whilst the different quadrilles, three in number, 
were danced, after which appeared a sort of chariot 
from which Princess William, dressed as a fairy, 
emerged and addressed the Crown Prince and 
Princess in a few complimentary words which were 
the end of the ceremony. We were then allowed 
to circulate and mix among the other guests, and 
it was most interesting to examine the different 
dresses of which we had not had a glimpse before. 

The Crown Princess was delighted, and if I 
remember right it was the last time I saw her 
really enjoy a Court festivity. I shall never for- 
get her as she stood on that momentous evening 
by the side of her husband, nor the look of 
affection with which he responded to the fond 
glance she gave him. I wondered whether they 
were thinking of that bygone day when, in the 
chapel of St. James's Palace, they had taken each 

222 



CORONATION AT MOSCOW 

other for better or worse. Certainly few people 
could, after twenty-five long years, look back on 
such complete happiness and perfect union, as these 
two had enjoyed for the quarter of a century they 
had lived together. 

In May of that same year, the Coronation 
of the Emperor Alexander III. took place at 
Moscow, and I realised my wish to be present at 
the festivities which accompanied it. We started 
for Russia, my husband and I, on May 16th. In 
the same train we were travelling by, was the 
French special mission, and I was much amused 
the other day in reading JNIadame Waddington's 
letters, with her description of this journey and 
of the Coronation ceremonies. She seemed to 
have taken quite seriously the various rumours 
which were circulated abroad concerning a probable 
attempt on the part of the Nihilists to murder 
the Emperor. I don't think that in Russia any 
one stopped for a moment to think of the possi- 
bility of such a thing, and certainly there was 
none of the emotion displayed on the day of the 
sovereign's public entry into Moscow which she 
says she witnessed. I also viewed the procession 
from the house of the Governor- General, Prince 
Dolgorouki, and I did not see the congratulations 
nor the numerous signs of the Cross which seem 
to have impressed Madame Waddington so thou- 
roughly as to make her write a whole page on 
the subject. Of course people were anxious, but 
Russians are not fond of wearing their hearts on 
their sleeves, and they would never make such an 

223 



MY RECOLLECTIONS 

exhibition of themselves as the one she so gra- 
phically described. 

For the rest her letters are interesting and 
accurate reading : as accurate at least as could be 
expected from a foreigner not understanding the 
Russian language, and whose "leg had been pulled" 
more or less, to use a vulgar expression which I 
hope my readers will forgive me. 

I shall never forget those weeks in Moscow. 
When fourteen years later I witnessed the Corona- 
tion of the present Emperor it appeared to me to 
be very insignificant in comparison with the splen- 
dours which had marked that of his father. 

Perhaps the explanation of this may be found 
in part in the greater popularity enjoyed by Alex- 
ander III., and especially by the affection which his 
consort had inspired everywhere and in every 
one. Nobody who heard the vociferous shouts 
which greeted the Empress Marie Feodorowna, 
when she appeared on the day of her entry into 
Moscow, sitting in her big golden carriage drawn 
by eight white horses, with her little daughter by 
her side, will ever forget it. She was a perfect 
vision of loveliness, all in white, with a lace veil 
falling on her shoulders, and the Russian Kako- 
schnik in diamonds on her head. She bowed re- 
peatedly to the crowd, and her large, lovely eyes 
wandered among the sea of faces which surrounded 
her. The Emperor was riding a good bit in front, 
and I must say he did not appear to advantage 
that day. He was mounted on a white horse 
far too smaU for him, and instead of riding in 

224 



THE PRINCESS HELENE 

front of his suite he kept among them, so that 
it was difficult to see him at a first glance. His 
eyes, in contrast to those of the Empress, had a 
sad, weary expression, whether from fatigue or 
from another feeling, it was of course impossible 
to tell. 

The day following upon the entry we went 
round the different Grand Duchesses to write our 
names down, and ended by calling on the Grande 
Maitresse de la Cour. the Princess Hel^ne Kot- 
schoubey, who was an aunt of mine. 

It was a remarkable European figure that of 
the Princess H^lene. Few women had had such 
an adventurous past, and few had borne with 
greater dignity the burden of a great name, or 
fulfilled more brilliantly the duties inseparable from 
a great position. She was a grande dame to her 
finger-tips, had lived on intimate and familiar 
terms with all the crowned heads of Europe, had 
studied the etiquette of the various Courts she 
had frequented, and was a valued friend of Queen 
Louise of Denmark, to whose influence she owed 
her appointment as Mistress of the Robes. The 
young Empress had absolute confidence in her, 
and owed a good deal of her popularity to my 
aunt's advice and guidance at the beginning of 
her reign. The Princess H^lene, to give her the 
name by which she was familiarly called in St. 
Petersburg society, was born to the place she 
occupied. No one has filled it like she did, no 
one has ever performed its duties with such success 
and such zeal. When she died the whole tone of 

225 Q 



MY RECOLLECTIONS 

the Court was changed, and it lost markedly in 
politeness as well as in dignity. 

The Princess was always very kind to me, and 
during these Moscow days she contrived, in spite 
of her numerous occupations, to think about us 
and give us all the opportunities she could to 
see what was going on in the easiest way she only 
could devise. 

The Coronation morning dawned, not fair and 
clear as had been hoped for, but rainy and dark. 
We had to get up at something like five o'clock, 
and by eight were in our places, not in the church 
itself, where only the ambassadors and chefs de 
mission were admitted, but in one of the tribunes 
outside. It was a most impressive sight. The 
whole of the vast square in front of the famous 
red staircase of the Kremlin was covered with red 
cloth, and on each step of the staircase itself stood 
alternately a Chevalier Garde in his white tunic, 
and gold cuirass, and a Cossack of the Escort in 
his scarlet uniform. The sun, shortly after we 
had settled ourselves in our places, came out, and 
its rays as they flashed on the bright uniforms 
added to their colour a soft tint, which made 
them appear even more beautiful than they were 
in reality. The whole square was black with 
people, drawn from all classes of society, peasants 
included. A common feeling of expectancy was 
running through the veins of all this crowd united 
by a kind of electric current, which made it think 
the same things, expect the same sensations. After 
a long wait, the clergy came out of the Cathedral 

226 



A CORONATION SPECTACLE 

of the Assumption, and sprinkled with holy water 
the path which was going to be trodden by 
the sovereign. Then the doors of the palace were 
thrown open, and a long procession of chamber- 
lains, in their gold-embroidered uniforms appeared, 
and came slowly down the steps of the red stair- 
case, which is the only exit from the Kremlin 
into the square. They passed slowly, two and 
two, and entered into the church, soon followed 
by the different royal personages who were to 
witness the ceremony, headed by the Queen of 
Greece, and the heir to the Russian throne, now 
the Emperor Nicholas II. The expectation of the 
crowd became more and more intense, when at 
last the great bell of Iwan Weliki struck a peal, 
and on the top of the staircase appeared Alex- 
ander III. leading the Empress. He was in full 
General's uniform, and she was most simply 
dressed in cloth of silver, with nothing in her 
hair, looking so young that one could have taken 
her for a bride about to be led to the altar, 
rather than for an Empress on her way to be 
crowned. An immense shout greeted the sove- 
reigns, a shout such as I fancy they had never 
heard before, so intensely loyal did it ring. The 
crowd was electrified, and as the Emperor and 
Empress stepped under the canopy, carried by 
twelve generals, which was awaiting them at the 
foot of the staircase, the enthusiasm of the mob 
verged very near on hysterics. 

Our tribune was full of diplomats, and of course 
the long time we had to wait before the procession 

227 



MY RECOLLECTIONS 

emerged from the church was spent most plea- 
santly. The only dark feature was, that we could 
not get anything to eat, and, as we had been 
up since about five o'clock, we began to feel 
ravenous as midday drew near. An Austrian 
secretary, Baron Aerenthal, now Ambassador in 
St. Petersburg, offered me some chocolate he 
had in his pocket, and even now, after so many 
years, I feel grateful to him for that kindness. 

^Vhilst we were struggling between hunger 
and amusement, the ceremony in the Cathedral 
was going on. It seems that when the Empress 
had been crowned, Alexander III., unable to re- 
strain his emotion, took her in his arms, as he 
raised her from the cushion on which she knelt, 
and pressed her to his heart in a passionate 
embrace, at which Count Pahlen, principal Master 
of Ceremonies, was so horrified, that he rushed 
towards the Emperor, with an agonised cry, ' Sire, 
ce n est pas dans le ceremonial ! ' I will not vouch 
for the truth of this anecdote, but it was repeated 
as a standing joke at the time. 

It must have been close on two o'clock when 
a movement in the crowd outside the cathedral 
told us that the ceremony of the coronation was 
at an end. The doors of the old church were 
thrown open, and the Emperor and Empress ap- 
peared, arrayed in their crowns and robes of State. 
Alexander III. was walking alone, under the 
canopy of cloth of gold and ostrich feathers, the 
enormous crown of the Russian emperors on his 
head, the long mantle lined with ermine over his 

228 



THE TRIUMPH OF ALEXANDER IH. 

shoulders, holding the sceptre in one hand, and the 
orb in the other. The sun which, save for one 
brief moment at the beginning of the day had 
been veiled by clouds,^suddenly burst forth again, 
and its rays played among the diamonds of the 
crown, and hghted the face of the sovereign with 
a peculiar glow. He appeared positively magnifi- 
cent as he towered over everybody, gigantic in 
his stature, and beautiful in the whole expression 
of his countenance, and the majesty of his de- 
meanour. Behind him the Empress was walking, 
also with the crown upon her dark hair, but some- 
how she did not look as pretty as she had done 
in the earUer part of the day, when she emerged 
out of the Kremlin. The weight of her mantle 
was pulling her down, and it had not been nicely 
fastened on her shoulders, and gave her a choked 
appearance. Her cheeks, too, were crimson, and 
altogether she seemed quite insignificant beside 
her splendid husband. That day was the triumph 
of Alexander III. Never before, and never after, 
did he look as he appeared at that hour when he 
presented himself for the first time before his sub- 
jects, as their crowned lord and master. 

Slowly the Emperor and Empress went round 
the four cathedrals of the Kremlin alone, and not 
followed, as Madame Waddington says, by the 
Imperial family, or members of the diplomatic 
body, and at last they once more reappeared on 
the square, and went up the steps of the red stair- 
case. When they reached the top, they turned 
round and bowed to the crowd three times. It 

229 



MY RECOLLECTIONS 

was then that the enthusiasm reached its culmi- 
nating point, and I do not think that any one wha 
heard the shouts of that vast multitude could ever 
doubt the feehng of affection which existed among 
the Russian people for its Czar. 

When the Imperial couple had retired there 
was a scramble as to who should first get into the 
palace, where we hoped to find some lunch. But, 
first of all, we had to witness the solemn meal of 
the Emperor, to the first part of which the Corps 
Diplomatique was admitted, retiring backwards 
when Alexander III. raised his glass. It was a 
pretty and quaint sight, that of the raised throne, 
and the Emperor and Empress, in their robes of 
State, sitting alone at a small table. Only I doubt 
whether we gave it the attention we should have 
done in different circumstances ; we were too 
hungry to enjoy anything, and I remember feeling 
very glad to be seated between two members of the 
Chinese Embassy, whose ignorance of a European 
language relieved me from attempting a conversa- 
tion, and allowed me to eat without being dis- 
turbed. 

That same evening we went to view the illumi- 
nations, and magnificent they were ; the crowd, 
though immense, was most orderly. The next day 
there was a ball at the old palace of the Kremlin^ 
where we all appeared in Court trains, and here again 
Madame Waddington is inaccurate, for certainly 
no Russian ladies were arrayed in ball-gowns with 
the Russian kakoschnik. This head-dress is only 
worn with Court trains, which everybody had on. 

230 



BALL AT THE KREMLIN 

It was on the occasion of this ball that for the 
first time the great tower of Iwan Weliki was 
illuminated with electricity, and nothing could 
have been more beautiful than the aspect of the 
ancient monument seen from the windows of the 
old Granowitaia Palata, as the room is called in 
which we assembled on that night. The ball did 
not last long, and the Empress looked lovely in a 
train of pink velvet embroidered in silver. 

During the fortnight which followed the coro- 
nation, ball after ball and festivity after festivity 
succeeded each other ; but I will not give a de- 
tailed account of all of them. One of the most 
remarkable was the ball given by the Governor- 
General of Moscow, which was so crowded, that 
at one moment we thought the Emperor and 
Empress would be unable to fight their way 
through the guests. I have never witnessed any- 
thing like it, and while we were being squashed I 
was amused by hearing one lady candidly confessing 
to another that she had not been invited at all, but 
had come all the same, as ' I knew I should never 
be found out,' she said, with an impudence which 
certainly deserved a better reward, than being 
crushed to the condition of a pancake, which 
was the fate which overtook all those who were 
present. 

Another entertainment which I remember on 
account of its magnificence, was the ball in the 
Alexander Hall of the new palace of the Kremlin. 
It was the last one that was given, and it surpassed 
all the others. The sight of Moscow, as it appeared 

231 



MY RECOLLECTIONS 

illuminated from the balcony on which the ball- 
room opened, was in itself a spectacle never to be 
forgotten. The hundred towers and belfries of 
the old city impressed one so strangely, when, 
after having gazed upon them, one turned round 
and saw the brilliant crowd which filled the rooms 
and halls of the palace. It was a curious sight, a 
mixture of civilisation and barbarism which made 
one understand better than any words could have 
done that strange and terrible thing called Holy 
Russia. 

It was during the popular feast, which is one of 
the features of the coronation of the Russian Em- 
perors, that Alexander III. told the deputations 
of peasants, which, according to custom, he received 
on this occasion, that they must not give credence 
to the different rumours which at that time were 
spread concerning his supposed intention of taking 
away land from its owners in order to give it to 
them. The words, though brief, by solid common 
sense, did more then than anything else to put an end 
to a certain agitation which ever since the murder 
of Alexander II. had been going on among the 
rural classes of the population, much to its detri- 
ment. The Emperor's speech sobered them at 
once, and in consequence life in the country be- 
came much more tolerable than it had been for the 
last three or four years. 

Among the amusing incidents of the coronation 
the following occurred. The occasion of the cere- 
mony was taken advantage of to inaugurate the new 
Cathedral of the Saviour, which had just been com- 

232 



THE CORPS DIPLOMATIQUE 

pleted and erected in memory of the defeat of the 
French troops under Napoleon in 1812. The Diplo- 
matic Corps were invited, with the exception, of 
course, of the French Embassy. On the morning of 
the consecration one of the masters of ceremonies 
suddenly discovered in one of the galleries a lady 
in the deepest of mourning, covered from head to 
foot by a crepe veil. Horrified at the sight, for 
black is strictly forbidden at Court, especially on 
any festive occasion, he rushed to the lady and 
asked her who she was, and how she came to 
appear in such extraordinary clothes on such a day. 
One may imagine his stupefaction when he found 
out that she was the wife of the French Consul, 
and had expressed her sorrow at the defeat of her 
compatriots in that singular way. It was with the 
greatest of trouble that she was prevailed upon to 
retire, and the affair nearly caused a diplomatic 
incident. 

In general the Corps Diplomatique contrived 
to get itself into hot water on several occasions. 
For instance, when they came to present their con- 
gratulations to the sovereigns after the coronation. 
Ladies were not supposed to appear, but several of 
them, in Court dress, accompanied their husbands, 
among them kind, genial Mme. Waddington. 
Great was the consternation when one saw them, 
and the Empress was appealed to as to what was 
to be done with them. She at once said she 
would receive them, and she did it so graciously, 
that they did not notice their presence had not 
been desired. 

233 



MY RECOLLECTIONS 

It would be impossible to enumerate all the 
curious and interesting people who were gathered 
together in Moscow during these days. All the 
world was represented there, and one met side by 
side the Duke of Aosta, formerly King of Spain,, 
and the Duke of Montpensier, once pretender to 
the Spanish Crown. The Papal Nuncio sat next 
to a Protestant minister, or a Greek bishop. All 
kinds of men and women were assembled there, 
who, under different circumstances, would never 
have dreamt even of exchanging a word with one 
another. It was, indeed, a marvellous gathering. 
Among the notable personages I became ac- 
quainted with was the Papal Nuncio, Mgr. (at 
present Cardinal) Vincenzo Vanutelli, of whom 1 
have just spoken. He had all the Italian courtesy, 
and at the same time the finesse which has always 
distinguished that race. His presence in JVIoscow 
had been the subject of much conversation, as it 
was considered to be a step towards a reconciliation 
between the Imperial Government and the Holy 
See. As a result of his visit a kind of modus 
vivendi was arranged, to which Mgr. Vanutelli's 
tact certainly contributed a good deal. He made 
himself quickly popular at Court, where, in par- 
ticular, his deference towards the Empress, whose 
hand he kissed, much to the scandal of certain 
Roman Catholics, was much appreciated. 

Two other men were the subject of much com- 
ment and admiration — they were the Prince of 
Montenegro and Prince Alexander of Battenberg. 
The last-named had already quarrelled with the 

234 



THE PRINCE OF MONTENEGRO 

Russian Government, and his presence in Moscow 
was connected with the hope of re-estabhshing 
more friendly relations than had existed for the 
last few months. He did not succeed, however. 
Alexander III., who always disliked him, showed 
himself obdurate to all attempts at a reconciliation, 
and whilst most effusive in his attentions towards 
Prince Nicholas of Montenegro, refused even to 
speak with the Prince of Bulgaria. 

I had known Prince Alexander in Berlin whilst 
he was an officer in the Garde du Corps. He had 
often been in my house, and we had frequently 
danced together. At Moscow we had somehow in 
that great crowd missed one another, but at a ball 
at the German Embassy he suddenly noticed me, 
and, coming up, asked me to dance the cotillon 
with him. During the dance the poor Prince, in 
his joy at finding an old friend, began pouring out 
his sorrows into my sympathetic ears, and after 
confiding to me his disgust at the way he was 
being treated, ended by saying that he could 
become a dangerous enemy if pushed to extremi- 
ties. To my remark that he would be helped by 
no one, he replied that he had reason to think he 
would be supported by German influence. This 
conversation struck me as being so remarkable 
that I reported it in a letter the next day to a 
well-known and influential journalist, who was a 
great friend of mine, and upon whose discretion 
I thought I could rely. One may imagine my 
horror when, a month or so afterwards, I found 

in the Times the whole account of my con- 

235 



MY RECOLLECTIONS 

versation with Prince Alexander, accompanied by 
the remark that the story had come from a 
Russian lady. I nearly had a fit, and was more 
vexed than I had been for a long time. The worst 
was that Prince Alexander thought I had been 
privy to this indiscretion, and never forgave me for 
it. I tried in vain to explain matters ; he would not 
hear anything, and I must confess he had reasons 
for being angry, for I certainly ought not to have 
mentioned to any one what he had told to me, and, 
of course, I could not defend my conduct. But 
the adventure was a lesson to me, and after that 
I held my tongue whenever I was made the re- 
cipient of confidences of the kind I had received 
that evening. 



236 



CHAPTER XIV. 

A Few more Words about Moscow — The Beginning of the 
Bulgarian Trouhle — Prince Bismarck and the Expulsion 
of Russian Subjects from Germany — Another Winter in 
Berlin — The Position of Prince William — Relations xvith 
his Father — The Marriage of the Graiul Duke of Hesse 
— / receive a Message from Queen Victoria — Countess 
Schleinitz — A Summer in Dieppe — Death of Lord 
Ampthill — The Alexander Dumas — Death of Mme, 
Lacroix. 

I WISH I had space enough to describe the different 
incidents of the coronation. They were as varied 
as they were interesting, both from the social and 
the poHtical point of view. It was during these 
memorable weeks that the principles which governed 
the whole of the reign of Alexander III. were laid 
down. The declaration of policy which he made 
in his speeches to the representatives of the rural 
classes, as well as to the deputations of the nobility, 
was directed towards the same end. He ap- 
pealed to the different classes of the nation for help 
in strengthening the Imperial power. After the 
period of unrest which had marked the last years 
of the life of Alexander II., Russia experienced 
a great feeling of rehef in finding itself at last 
ruled by a sovereign who knew what he was 
doing, and who had a firm grasp of the direction 

237 



MY RECOLLECTIONS 

in which he wished to lead the people whose fate 
was in his hands. One might not sympathise with 
the line of conduct of the monarch on whose brow 
the Imperial crown had just been laid, but it was 
impossible to say that he did not know himself 
what he wished or meant to do. 

The great merit of Count Tolstoi lay precisely 
in the fact that he gave to Alexander III. what i 
the latter had lacked during the first weeks which 
had followed his accession to the throne — faith in 
himself and faith in the Russian nation. Personally, 
there are many points in which I did not sympathise 
with this much- discussed Minister, but it would be 
unjust to let one's opinions weigh against the un- 
deniable fact that his advent to power gave a 
solidity to the Government which it had lacked for 
£L long time. 

One of the festivities of the coronation which 
excited the most discussion was the ball offered by 
the nobility of Moscow to the Emperor. It had 
been said at first that he would not accept it, and, 
therefore, when it was officially announced that he 
had done so, the struggle for invitations became so 
keen that it is a wonder all the fortunate organizers 
of the entertainment did not end by becoming 
inmates of a lunatic asylum. I believe that about 
four thousand people were asked, and about as 
many more grumbled because they had been for- 
gotten. But the ball was a great success. I do not 
remember ever having seen the Empress look more 
lovely. She talked to me for some time, and I 
fear must have thought me very impertinent by 

238 



EMPRESS MARIE ALEXANDROWNA 

the way I stared at her. She was really a radiant 
vision, in a pale yellow satin dress, embroidered 
with pearls, some scarlet poppies on her bodice, and 
marvellous diamonds and sapphires around her 
throat and in her dark hair. Her manner, too, was 
particularly gracious, and I do not think she omitted 
to say a few words to any person she knew in the 
enormous crowd. The enthusiasm she excited was 
indescribable, and I am sure no one who remembers 
that evening will contradict me. 

The coronation over, we went to the country 
for the summer, and late in autumn returned to 
BerMn. I am not quite sure, my memory as to 
dates being rather defective, whether it was during 
the months which followed upon it or a year later 
that Bulgarian affairs became troublesome. I 
am inclined to think it was immediately after the 
return of Prince Alexander to Sofia, especially 
when I bear in mind the incident I have described 
about the publication of Sir D. Mackenzie Wallace's 
article in the Times. It is certain that the manner 
of the Emperor towards the Prince of Battenberg 
had much to do with the events which subse- 
quently took place. The two men had never liked 
each other. The Empress Marie Alexandrowna, 
who was very much attached to her brother, the 
Prince of Hesse, had always made a great fuss 
over his children, thus exciting the secret jealousy 
of her own. Her son, who held all irregular 
marriages in particular horror, had always looked 
askance at the Battenbergs, and a few personal 
incidents which had occurred at the time of the 

239 



MY RECOLLECTIONS 

war had accentuated the hostihty which existed 
between the cousins. The Prince of Bulgaria was 
of a proud, passionate, ambitious nature ; he chafed 
with impatience under the kind of vassalage in 
which he was held by the Russian officials ap- 
pointed to help him officially — ^to watch him, in 
reality, as he imagined, not quite, perhaps, without 
reason. He had come to Moscow with the inten- 
tion of having a loyal explanation with the Czar,. 
and I believe that if an interview had been granted 
to him matters would not have come to the pass 
they did ; but Alexander III. absolutely refused to 
see or speak to the Prince otherwise than officially, 
and in public, and the latter left Russia, aggrieved 
at heart, and determined to throw off the Russian 
yoke at the first opportunity. He was unfor- 
tunately encouraged in that line of action by 
different people in England and Germany, and, 
great as is my admiration and respect for the 
late Empress Frederick, I do not think she was 
quite blameless in the matter. In 1888 Prince 
Alexander aspired to the hand of the favourite 
daughter of the Empress Frederick, the Princess 
Victoria. There were, however, political reasons 
which rendered — apart from all personal sentiment 
— such a union inadvisable, and two years later 
the Princess married Prince Adolf of Schaumburg- 
Lippe. 

We spent a peaceful winter in Berlin, where, 
owing to Court mourning, the season was a re- 
markably quiet one. I do not remember whether it 
was in that year or in the year following that Prince 

240 



DR. WINDTHORST 

Bismarck, who had embarked upon a decidedly anti- 
Russian policy, made up his mind to expel all foreign 
subjects living within a certain distance from the 
frontier. The measure, which excited an immense 
amount of indignation, was eagerly seized upon by 
Dr. Windthorst and his party, in order to bring 
about a motion of censure in the Reichstag against 
the Chancellor, and to challenge the legality of his 
conduct. Public opinion, of course, sided against 
the Minister, and the day upon which the motion 
was to be discussed was eagerly awaited. It was 
known that several members of the Bundesrath, or 
Federal Council, were strongly opposed to the appli- 
cation of the Imperial ordinance with which the 
unpopular measure had been heralded. The debate 
which it was expected would follow upon the 
proposal of Dr. Windthorst to remonstrate with 
the Government as to the illegality of the pro- 
ceedings taken, was eagerly awaited, and on the 
day it was to take place, I do not believe there was 
even standing-room in any of the galleries of the 
Reichstag. I arrived early, so as to get a good 
seat in the diplomatic box, where I generally went 
to listen to the debates. We were crammed, as 
many human beings as could possibly get in, and 
among us was one of the members of the Federal 
Council, who, for some reason or another, had 
elected not to occupy his usual place in the body 
of the House. He was rather loud in his denun- 
ciations of the Chancellor, and said to us that the 
Bundesrath was going also to make representations 
to the Emperor, if the debate that was about to 

241 R 



MY RECOLLECTIONS 

take place would not make the Government re- 
consider its position. A French diplomat, who 
was also a great friend of mine, turned to me, and 
in a low voice, so as not to be heard, whispered 
in my ear, ' He will be the first one to applaud the 
Chancellor ; do not believe him.' Events proved 
the truth of this appreciation. 

Just as the President declared the sitting opened, 
and before even he had proceeded to read the orders 
of the day, Prince Bismarck, who had entered the 
House together with the other members of the 
Ministry, got up, and in a loud ringing voice de- 
clared he was the bearer of an Imperial message 
to the Reichstag. An eager murmur was heard, 
and expressions of astonishment and curiosity as 
to what was the nature of the communication 
could be caught here and there, but there was 
nothing to do but to get up, according to custom, 
and to listen to what the Emperor had to say 
through the lips of his Minister. The excitement 
was so intense, that even the Socialist leaders 
forgot for once their usual custom to go out of 
the House on such occasions, and clustered round 
the ministerial bench. Prince Bismarck got up. 
I can see him now, standing erect in his cuirassier 
uniform with its yellow collar, his immense head 
in its sharp outlines appearing almost like that of 
a bulldog against the dark ground of the House. 
I have never seen him look so imposing; it was 
terrible to behold that straight jaw, and the deter- 
mination which the whole figure of the man re- 
vealed as he slowly unfolded the paper he held 

242 



A SCENE IN THE REICHSTAG 

in his hand, and proceeded to read its contents. 
These were brief, and to the effect that the Em- 
peror, having been apprised that it was the 
intention of the Reichstag to discuss his recent 
ordinances, reminded it that these were issued by 
him in his position as King of Prussia, and that 
the Parhament of the Empire had no right what- 
ever to challenge them. If the Prussian Landtag 
(it had just been adjourned for six months) de- 
sired to bring about a debate on the point, it was 
at liberty to do so ; but he could not allow the 
privileges of the monarchy to be encroached upon, 
and he would never permit the Reichstag of the 
Empire to discuss his actions as an independent 
German sovereign. 

A dead silence was the reply to the message. 
It would be impossible to describe the conster- 
nation with which it was received. Prince Bis- 
marck folded the paper: ' I suppose the House 
will thank his Majesty for his gracious commu- 
nication,' he said loudly, with an expression of 
triumph, such as had rarely illuminated his face. 
Then, without even looking at those he had so 
completely crushed, he turned on his heels, and 
went out of the House. As he reached the 
door, he suddenly looked round, and seeing the 
members of the Bundesrath sitting glued with 
surprise to their chairs, beckoned to them with 
his little finger, in an imperative gesture, which 
had something of a command, and something of 
a threat in it. The Bundesrath got up at once, 
as if pushed from behind by some one, and 

243 



MY RECOLLECTIONS 

meekly, with bowed heads, followed the Chan- 
cellor out of the House. A world of things 
could be guessed from this sudden acquiescence 
of twenty people to one omnipotent will. The 
scene was more impressive from what lay behind 
it, than from what was seen by the public, 
though this was remarkable enough. I do not 
think the great personality of Prince Bismarck, 
nor the proof of his immense and indomitable 
power, ever shone more fiercely than on this 
memorable occasion. I looked round : the man 
who had so loudly boasted of the resistance of 
the Federal Council to the will of the great 
Minister, was gone; he, too, had followed his 
chief. I turned towards my French friend. 'Did 
I not tell you so ? ' he said with a smile. 

It was during that winter of 1883-1884, that 
the relations between the Crown Prince and Prince 
William became more and more strained. Both 
father and son were to blame for this, but I 
believe that matters would never have reached the 
stage they did, had not busybodies tried to make 
mischief, and had not gossip, as ill-advised as it was 
ill-natured, fanned feelings of rivalry which did 
not require other people's help to become acute. 
Ever since the time when the Crown Prince came 
into conflict with the old Emperor at the be- 
ginning of Prince Bismarck's administration, he 
had not been able to divest himself of an idea 
that all his actions were suspected by the King, 
as well as by the Chancellor. AVhen he saw his 
son put, so to say, above him, and become the 

244 



STRAINED RELATIONSHIPS 

object of the Emperor's affection to a degree he, 
the direct heir to the crown, had never been able 
to attain, he naturally became bitter, though, of 
course, he never would own to it. On the other 
hand. Prince William, with the impetuosity of his 
character, as well as with the self-confidence of 
extreme youth, felt flattered to see that he was 
more often listened to than his father, and in his 
vanity did not understand that he as well as the 
Crown Prince were but pawns in the game Prince 
Bismarck was playing for all it was worth. 

These family misunderstandings occupied public 
attention during the whole course of the critical 
winter of which I am speaking. They were not 
perhaps known largely abroad, but in the imme- 
diate circle of the Royal family they began to 
be viewed with an apprehension which was the 
stronger that no one at the time could foresee the 
course events were destined to take, or suspect that 
death would claim the Emperor Frederick almost 
simultaneously with the old King. 

One of the great friends of the Crown Prince 
and Princess at that time was the Countess 
Schleinitz, the wife of the Minister of the Royal 
Household. A most gifted woman, devoted to 
her friends, accomplished, clever, and good, she 
was the object of Prince Bismarck's special aver- 
sion, both on account of her independence of 
opinions, and of the politics of her husband. 
Prince Bismarck had begun his diplomatic career 
under Count Schleinitz, who in the early sixties 
held the portfolio of Foreign Affairs. They had not 

245 



MY RECOLLECTIONS 

agreed, and the Chancellor, with the vindictiveness 
which was one of the distinctive traits of his 
character, had never forgiven his former chief. 
He pushed his resentment indeed so far, that 
when Count Schleinitz died, in February, 1885, 
he forbade any of the officials of the Foreign 
Office who had served under him to assist at his 
funeral. Countess Schleinitz never mixed her- 
self up in politics, and was more devoted to 
Wagner, Schopenhauer, and German philosophy, 
than to intrigue of any kind, but the Chancellor 
made up his mind she was thwarting his plans, 
and acting as intermediary between the Crown 
Prince and Princess and certain members of the 
opposition in the Reichstag. The political position 
in regard to interior affiiirs was at that time be- 
coming every day more and more difficult. The 
Socialists, in spite of the laws of exception pro- 
mulgated against them, were gaining ground at 
each election, and the National Liberal Party 
was also beginning to be independent of the 
Government. Prince Bismarck knew that all the 
sympathies of the heir to the throne were with 
the last-mentioned, and, to exasperate the Emperor 
against his son, contrasted the conduct of the 
latter with that of Prince William, who was re- 
presented as being in perfect conformity with the 
opinions and politics of his grandfather. Some 
painful incidents occurred, such as the abrupt dis- 
missal by the King of ^Ir. Normann, who was at 
at the head of the Crown Prince's household. 
Rightly or wrongly, the Crown Princess fancied 

246 



PRINCESS VICTORIA OF HESSE 

that her eldest son had something to do with 
the affair, and showed him her displeasure in 
various ways, so that, with one thing or another, 
matters were not in a very pleasant state at the 
Court of Berlin at the time I am speaking of. 
It was also in the spring of 1884 that another 
extraordinary incident occurred, in which I found 
myself mixed up, in a most unforeseen and, to 
me, disagreeable manner. 

In April of that year, Princess Victoria of 
Hesse was married at Darmstadt to her cousin. 
Prince Louis of Battenberg. Queen Victoria 
came over for the ceremony, to which the Crown 
Prince and Princess also repaired. Their absence 
was to last a week, if not more, when we were all 
startled by hearing they had returned to Berlin 
immediately after the ceremony. The astonish- 
ment became only greater when it was known 
that the reason for their abrupt departure from 
Darmstadt was due to the fact that the Grand 
Duke of Hesse had contracted a second marriage 
on the very day the nuptials of his daughter were 
celebrated, and that the Queen of England, exas- 
perated at his audacity, was doing all that was 
in her power to have that union annulled. So 
far the affair left me indifferent until, to my dis- 
may, I heard that the lady on whom the choice 
of the Grand Duke had fallen, was my own 
cousin. 

Her name was Madame de Kolemine ; she was 
the grand-daughter of my uncle Henry Rzewuski, 
consequently my father's great-niece. Married at 

247 



MY RECOLLECTIONS 

a very early age to a Russian diplomat, M. de 
Kolemine, she had the reputation of being a 
lovely as well as a clever woman. Her hus- 
band was attached to the Legation at Darmstadt, 
and my cousin very soon became the friend of 
the young Princesses of Hesse, especially of the 
eldest of them. Princess Victoria, who wrote most 
affectionate letters to her, which read strangely 
when, later on, they came to be contrasted with 
the events that followed. 

Madame de Kolemine's marriage did not turn 
out a happy one, and she sued her husband for a 
divorce. The Grand Duke Louis fell in love with 
her, and asked her to marry him. Here comes the 
extraordinary part of this extraordinary story. 
Had the couple chosen a quiet moment to become 
united, it is probable that the affair would have 
passed off" as so many of the same kind do ; but 
by a strange aberration of spirit, and a complete 
forgetfulness of the rules of common sense, the 
Grand Duke elected to be married when all his 
family were gathered together for the wedding of 
his daughter. His own marriage was scarcely per- 
formed when the Queen was informed of it. What 
happened afterwards I cannot tell, for I never 
knew. Pressure of some kind, without doubt,, 
must have been exercised over him, because he 
consented to an order being signified to his bride 
to leave Darmstadt immediately, and she was com- 
pelled, almost by force, to do so. 

I did not know my cousin except by hearsay^ 
but nevertheless this romance was, as can well be 

248 



MADAME DE KOLEMINE 

imagined, not at all pleasant to me. The reader 
will therefore understand that my annoyance 
changed almost to dismay, when I received, a few 
days later, a visit from Lady Ampthill the wife 
of the British Ambassador, who brought me a 
message from no less a personage than Queen 
Victoria herself concerning my cousin, and asking 
me to write a certain letter to my father on 
the subject of his niece, I do not feel at liberty 
to explain here the nature of the Queen's re- 
quest. It is enough to say that the message was 
brought to me, and that if the nature of it was 
known, it would cause a certain degree of astonish- 
ment. 

Of course I transmitted to my father what 
I was asked in her Majesty's name to do, and 
a few days later INIadame de Kolemine herself 
arrived in Berlin, and WTote to me asking me 
to come and see her. Much to my husband's 
anger I went, and found a very pretty woman, 
absolutely different from what I had expected. 
She wished to have an interview with Lord 
Ampthill, but he declined to see her, in which 
he was quite right, for the matter had passed 
out of his hands, and in his official position he 
could hardly have become mixed up in it. I had, 
therefore, to tell Madame de Kolemine that I 
could do nothing for her, and withdrew myself 
from the whole business, though, of course, I for- 
warded the Queen's message to my father, and 
received her Majesty's thanks conveyed through 
Lady Ampthill. My cousin, with whom aa 

249 



MY RECOLLECTIONS 

arrangement was ultimately made, received the 
title of Baroness Romrod and a pension, and very 
soon afterwards she married another Russian dip- 
lomat, with whom I believe she leads a most 
happy life. I never saw her again after these 
Berlin interviews. 

That same summer we went to Dieppe, and 
whilst there saw a good deal of Lord and Lady 
Salisbury, who possessed a chalet at Puys, as well as 
of Alexandre Duinas, who also had a little villa there. 
It was about half an hour's distance from Dieppe. 
Madame Alexandre Dumas was a Russian. It 
was through my aunt, Madame Jules Lacroix, 
that she became acquainted with Dumas, and the 
story of their marriage is so curious that I think it 
can well find a place in these reminiscences. 

Madame Narischkine, for this was the name of 
the lady who ultimately became the wife of the 
famous dramatist, was distantly related to my 
father's first wife — at least I think so, though I am 
not quite sure on this point ; but what I am cer- 
tain of, is that she was a great friend of his, and 
that when she started for Paris he gave her a letter 
for his sister. My aunt, always glad to make new 
acquaintances, welcomed JNIadame Narischkine, 
then a young and pretty widow, most effusively, 
and they saw a good deal of each other. One day 
she invited her to dinner, and among the guests 
was young Dumas. When her Russian friend was 
gone, my aunt asked him what he thought of her, 
to which he replied, ' Elle me plait, car je crois 
qu'elle a tous les vices.' A few weeks passed after 

250 



ALEXANDRE DUMAS 

this remark was made, and my aunt began to 
wonder that neither Madame Narischkine nor 
Dumas came any more to see her, when she was 
startled one morning by hearing they had just been 
married to one another. The curious part of the 
story is that they never came to see my aunt 
afterwards, nor made any attempt to approach 
her. 

When I made her acquaintance, Madame Dumas 
was quite an old woman, and the picture of untidi- 
ness, going about in wrappers, with all the buttons 
and hooks missing, and her hair curled in Uttle rags 
of paper, which gave her a funny, and certainly not 
attractive, appearance. But her manner was charm- 
ing, and her conversation most amusing. As for 
Dumas himself, he was, of course, one of the most 
delightful men in Paris, and I do not think I ever 
met one who was more entertaining, in spite of 
the paradoxes with which his talk abounded. We 
used to see that agreeable couple very often, 
and I remember one day when I was returning to 
Dieppe, Dumas accompanied me part of the way, 
and we stopped near a stile on the road, and 
started an argument, which, I believe, lasted fully 
more than an hour, to the stupefaction of the 
passers-by, who I am sure must have wondered 
to see us talking like that on the road. The 
subject of our talk was — I remember it well — the 
famous Visite de Noces, one of Dumas' best 
pieces, and certainly the one he hked the best 
himself. 

Lady Salisbury also enjoyed Dumas' conver- 
251 



MY RECOLLECTIONS 

sations, and the brilliancy with which he con- 
ducted any kind of discussion. Her intelligent 
mind, perhaps even more remarkable than was his 
own, knew how to appreciate the flashes of genius, 
which appeared under all his paradoxes. Just as 
witty, and with more earnestness in her character 
than the French dramatist, she was exactly the 
kind of person to bring out his best points, and 
it was certainly a great treat to hear them discuss 
any subject together. 

The Salisburys led a quiet life at Dieppe, and 
they were, perhaps, seen there to greater advan- 
tage than at Hatfield House, where the burden of 
their great position was more or less always weigh- 
ing upon them. They saw but very few people, 
and hardly went anywhere. The papers used to 
arrive at Puys a few hours later than at Dieppe, 
and so I remember it was I who told Lady Salis- 
bury at the races, where she had driven, the news 
of the death of Lord Ampthill, which I had just 
read in the Figaro before leaving our house. She 
was very much shocked, as, indeed, we all were. 
Apart from the serious blow to his country, the 
loss of Lord Ampthill, at a comparatively early 
age, came to all his friends — and he had only 
friends — as a personal grief. Few men were pos- 
sessed of more solid qualities, and few of them 
united to the same degree the gifts of a most 
remarkable training, with those other advantages 
which help so much to make a person attractive 
from a worldly point of view. He had tact, a 
consummate knowledge of the world, and a cour- 

252 



LORD LYTTON 

tesy which never failed him on any occasion, or in 
any circumstance. To none of his friends did his 
death come as a greater blow than to the Crown 
Prince and Princess, for whom he had always 
professed a devotion and attachment which had 
often helped them through the difficulties which 
were perpetually thrown in their path. Had Lord 
Ampthill been aUve, it is probable that many a 
trial would have been spared to the Empress 
Frederick, and many a mistake made by herself, 
or her friends on her behalf, would have been 
avoided. His loss was, for her, irreparable. 

At that time the Liberals were in power in 
England, and so I could, without fear of being 
indiscreet, ask Lady Salisbury who she thought 
would be appointed in Berlin as Ambassador ; she 
replied she could not have an idea, but that if she 
had had anything to do with it, she would have 
suggested Lord Ljrtton. I often thought of this 
remark, and did not, in consequence, experience 
the same astonishment as the rest of the world, 
when, after ^Lord Lyons' retirement in 1887, Lord 
Lytton was appointed to Paris by Lord Salisbury, 
then again at the head of the Government. 

Our holiday in Dieppe ended in September, 
and after a short stay in Paris with my aunt, 
Madame Lacroix, I returned to Berlin, where the 
winter of 1885 was to prove more eventful for me 
than the preceding one. I little guessed, when I 
took leave of my aunt, that I should never see her 
again. She died the following July, and with her 
died too a good deal of the pleasure I always ex- 

253 



MY RECOLLECTIONS 

perienced when I went to Paris. I was to visit 
the gay city often enough in later years, but all 
the remembrances of my childhood which had 
made it so dear to me were gone, and my early 
associations broken up. My yearly visits to France 
became mere pleasure trips, taken only for amuse- 
ment. The reasons which had made me look 
forward to them so eagerly, disappeared with this 
last survivor of another epoch in the history of 
French society. 



254 



CHAPTER XV. 

Brussels and Madame de Villeneuve — We spend a Pait of 
the Winter hi St. Petersburg — Death of Prince Fi-ederick 
Charles of Prussia and of Field-Marshal von Manteiiffel 
— The Appointment of his Successor — Various In- 
ti'igues — Death of Prince Orloff, Russian Ambassador in 
Berlin — The Celeb?'ation of Prince Bismarck'' s Seventieth 
Birthday. 

I DO not think I have spoken of a short stay we 
made in Brussels with my husband in 1883, just 
before the Moscow Coronation. At least I think 
it was in 1883, but it might also have been one 
or two years before that time : I have never had 
a memory for dates. We went there to see some 
American friends of mine, Mr. and Mrs. Nicholas 
Fish, who represented the United States at 
the Court of King Leopold. We spent a few 
pleasant days in the Belgian capital, and it was 
there I met a woman whose radiant beauty made 
an impression upon me that I have never been 
able to forget. I am speaking of the Countess 
de Villeneuve, whose supreme loveliness is remem- 
bered by all those who knew her, as one of the 
most extraordinary things in this world. Her 
face, with its Madonna -like expression, had not 
one feature which could be criticised, or even not 
admired. No Greek sculptor ever devised any- 

255 



MY RECOLLECTIONS 

thing more perfect. When she entered a room, 
dressed in white, with diamond stars in her dark 
hair, it seemed as if a goddess had suddenly ap- 
peared. Every other woman became insignificant 
beside her. Where she was, she reigned alone, 
with a sway which has never been contested during 
her whole life. 

The British JNlinister in Brussels was Mr. (after- 
wards Sir) Savile Lumley, whom I was to meet 
years later in Rome, where he occupied the post 
of British Ambassador. He had made himself 
very popular in the Belgian capital, and used to 
entertain a good deal with the most charming 
hospitality. His Austrian colleague was Count 
Bohuslaw Chotek, a cousin of my husband's, and 
both he and his amiable wife did all they could 
to make our stay in Brussels as pleasant as 
possible. Their numerous daughters were not 
married at that time, and no one suspected that 
a certain young lady just then emerging from 
childhood into the dignity of being considered 
grown up, would one day fill a very exalted posi- 
tion indeed, and win the heart of the heir to the 
Hapsburg monarchy. 

My father's birthday was on Christmas Eve, 
according to the Russian almanac, that is on the 
5th of January according to ours. We left Berlin 
on the day following upon the Occidental New 
Year, and arrived in the Russian capital in time 
for the celebration of this family festivity. I re- 
member it particularly, for it was the last time 
we spent it all together with my father. My 

256 



THE AFGHAN QUESTION 

elder brother had arrived in St. Petersburg from 
Central Asia at that same time, and we once more 
lived over again all the remembrances of our 
childhood. 

St. Petersburg was very gay that winter. The 
young Empress was known to be passionately 
devoted to dancing, and everybody who could 
aspire to the honour gave balls, which she and 
the Emperor were asked to grace with their 
presence. Alexander III. hated these kind of 
festivities, but he bore such tediousness with the 
greatest good nature, and seemed to enjoy the 
sight of the Empress dancing far into the small 
hours, with a zest and entrain which of course 
everybody imitated. Occasionally, however, even 
the kind sovereign had enough of it, and the 
remembrance of a certain ball at the Anitchkoff 
Palace, his private residence, is still treasured 
among the memories of that winter, when, find- 
ing it did not come to an end, Alexander III. 
sent away one musician after the other until the 
last one was dismissed, and the cotillon, which 
had provoked this explosion of wrath, had per- 
force to stop too. 

Whilst we were in St. Petersburg the Afghan 
question became suddenly acute. My brother 
was, as I have already told, in the Russian capi- 
tal on leave. He was suddenly ordered to re- 
turn at once to his regiment, quartered at a 
place called Askhabad, in Central Asia. We 
were very much dismayed on hearing this de- 
cision of the military authorities, especially as 

257 s 



MY RECOLLECTIONS 

my brother had not had a long leave since the 
Turkish War. The evening we received this 
unwelcome news I happened to meet, at a ball at 
the British Embassy, Prince DondoukofF Korsakoff, 
at that time Governor- General of the Caucasus, 
and through asking him whether it would not 
be possible for my brother to stay a few days 
longer with us, I got into a fearful mess. It 
seems that the recall of officers on leave was to 
be kept as secret as possible, and I had put my 
foot in it, especially considering the place I had 
chosen to mention it in. 

My brother left at once, and very soon after 
his departure the different frontier incidents hap- 
pened which so very nearly brought us to war 
with England. The English press behaved, I must 
say, in a spiteful manner about it, and did its 
very best to embitter relations between the two 
countries. As an example of its attitude I will 
relate the following incident: — 

When my brother returned to Askhabad, he 
found he had nothing to do there, and after a few 
months spent in idleness, he at last got twelve 
days' leave. He could, of course, do nothing with 
them, as it took about that time to reach any civi- 
lised place. The thought struck him he could 
go on a little excursion to the Persian town of 
Mesched, which he had never seen, and which was 
supposed to be a most interesting place. Accord- 
ingly, he set out with half-a-dozen Cossacks, crossed 
the mountains, and after having bought a few 
carpets returned to Askhabad, without any one, 

268 



RUSSIA AND PERSIA 

least of all himself, having thought there could be 
anything worth attracting attention in this journey. 
A few weeks later, I was much amused to read 
in the Times that Russia had evidently dark 
designs on Persia, because a Cossack officer, en- 
joying the fullest confidence of the Government, 
had recently been with a formidable escort to 
Mesched, in order to draw plans of the town and 
surrounding country. Now, my brother could 
not have drawn a plan to save his life, and he 
belongs to the kind of happy-go-lucky people, 
whom no one with the least knowledge of human 
nature would ever dream of sending upon any 
mission of the character which the great London 
journal had attributed to him. I have narrated 
this incident just to show what degree of reliance 
can be placed upon the information given in the 
best English papers, in matters relating to Russia 
and Russian affairs. 

We returned to Berlin in time for the last 
Court ball of the season, and Lent went on just 
as usual with the Empress's Thursday concerts 
and the habitual round of diplomatic entertain- 
ments, which were a feature of that season of the 
year. In March, my father's step-grandson. Prince 
OrlofF, died on his property near Paris, whither he 
had gone to try and get cured from the painful 
disease to which he succumbed, at an age when 
one could have hoped that his services would be 
spared for a long time to his country. He had 
been appointed Russian Ambassador at Berlin a 
few months before, and had hardly been able to 

259 



MY RECOLLECTIONS 

occupy his post. He was one of Prince Bismarck's 
few personal friends, and, when the Hartmann 
incident obhged him to leave Paris, the Prince 
asked that he might be sent to the German 
capital, in succession to Baron d'Oubril, who had 
for many years represented Russia at the Court 
of the Emperor William, and was at last retiring. 
Prince Orloff was a most attractive man. He 
had lost one of his eyes during the Crimean 
war, and the black bandage which he wore 
seemed rather to add to the distinction of his 
features. He was one of our most brilliant diplo- 
mats, and certainly deserved the great reputa- 
tion he enjoyed. Personally I regretted him very 
much. Though there was no actual relationship 
between us, yet as my father had always con- 
sidered him as a member of his family, this cir- 
cumstance had led to a certain intimacy between 
us. His early demise was a great shock to my 
father, who, of course, had never expected to sur- 
vive him. 

It was two or three days after the death of 
Prince OrlofF, that the German Chancellor cele- 
brated his seventieth birthday. The occasion was 
made the pretext for a great demonstration of 
loyalty throughout the Empire towards the man 
who had called it into existence. The students 
of the University organized a torchlight procession, 
and the Emperor presented to his Minister a 
copy of Werner s picture of the proclamation 
of the German Empire in Versailles. The old 
monarch himself offered it to Prince Bismarck. 

260 



BISMARCK'S SEVENTIETH BIRTHDAY 

He was accompanied by the various members of 
his family, and in a few words he expressed the 
gratitude he, as well as his house and the country 
over which he ruled, had for the great man 
whose genius had given the Empire unity, and 
the Hohenzollerns the Imperial Crown. The 
scene was most impressive, and certainly can be 
called one of the great ones of Prince Bismarck's 
great life. 

We went, of course, to view the procession of 
which I have already spoken. Count Radolinski, 
now Prince Radolin, and German Ambassador in 
Paris, had asked us to come and see it from his 
windows, which opened on Unter den Linden, 
the principal thoroughfare in Berlin. It was a 
great sight, and a curious demonstration from what 
was then the coming generation. Prince Bismarck 
was nowhere more popular than among students, 
and the different Universities in Germany. It 
was there that his gigantic efforts for the con- 
solidation of the Empire had been most appre- 
ciated, and it was among the so-called learned 
classes of society that his great work was viewed 
as it ought to have been — that is, seen as a whole, 
and not in all its details. 

Death was very busy among the people I knew 
in the year 1885. In June, Prince Frederick 
Charles of Prussia, the famous Red Prince of the 
Franco- German War, went to his rest after a short 
but painful illness. His disappearance removed 
from the world a man who had filled in it a place 
at once larger and smaller than he deserved. As 

261 



MY RECOLLECTIONS 

a military man the Prince was a genius ; but the 
inactivity in which he was forced to hve, after the 
final triumph of the German arms, weighed upon 
his mind. He was not liked, and he knew it well. 
His relations with his wife, which at the best 
could be called strained, had a good deal to do 
with the opinion which the crowd held about him, 
and his brusque manners made him many foes. 
1 have always held to the opinion that Prince 
Frederick Charles belonged to those unhappy 
people who are always misunderstood, whatever 
they do, or attempt to do. In life he was disliked, 
in death he was not regretted. 

Almost at the same time he passed away, 
another hero of the war of 1870 went to his 
rest. I am speaking of Field -Marshal Man- 
teuffel, certainly one of the greatest men of 
modern German history. For several years prior 
to his death, he had occupied the responsible 
position of Governor of the conquered Provinces 
of Alsace - Lorraine, and by his wise adminis- 
tration of them, he made for himself a name 
in history such as very few attain. He was the 
only personage in the German Empire who dared 
to put his opinion against that of Prince Bis- 
marck, and certainly he never allowed the Chan- 
cellor to lord it over him, as he did over every- 
body else. Baron von ManteufFel was a very 
cultured man, and one who possessed the rare 
gift of putting himself in another person's place, 
and of looking at things with different eyes 
than his own. His impartiality was most extra- 

262 



FIELD-MARSHAL MANTEUFFEL 

ordinary, and his common sense and judgment 
so exceptional, that they always overweighed 
any preferences he might have had. Appointed 
Governor of the annexed Provinces with almost 
unhmited power, he used it only in the sense of 
conciliation and moderation. Whilst admiring 
Prince Bismarck, he had yet never sympathised with 
him, nor with the means he used to ensure suc- 
cess to his plans. His moral convictions were of 
a very high order, and he would never have con- 
sented to certain compromises of conscience which 
Prince Bismarck not only accepted, but believed 
to be quite legitimate. Field-Marshal von Man- 
teufFel was a strength to any political party with 
whom he chose to ally himself, but one of his 
strongest points was that he refused to join any 
of them, but went on doing his duty as a soldier 
and as a servant of his King. 

His death, coming as it did most unexpectedly, 
was a great source of embarrassment to the Govern- 
ment. It was not easy to find a successor to 
him, and it was discussed whether a prince of 
the Royal family would not be the best choice 
which could be made under the circumstances. 
Some one, I could not tell who, mooted the idea, 
and suggested that the Crown Prince would be 
the proper person to appoint as Lieutenant of the 
Emperor in Alsace-Lorraine. Prince Bismarck, 
at first, was rather inclined to take the same view, 
perhaps because he knew that failure was sure to 
attend this effort at concihation. But WiUiam I., 
when consulted, at once declared himself against 

263 



MY RECOLLECTIONS 

it. He was by principle opposed to the heir to 
his throne being given any responsible position in 
which he could make a name for himself, and he 
distrusted his son's French and English sympathies. 
He refused his consent to the proposal with an 
alacrity which he would have done better, perhaps, 
not to express so openly. It was at this juncture 
that some one suggested that Prince William of 
Prussia should be appointed as successor to Field- 
Marshal von INIanteufFel. 

Prince Bismarck did not take kindly to the 
suggestion at first. He was opposed by principle 
to any kind of authority being given to a member 
of the Royal family. Perhaps he felt that with 
them it would be impossible for him to exert his 
authority in the way he liked to do. Perhaps, 
also, he did not care to let his favourite pupil 
escape from his immediate influence. But when 
the Emperor consulted him on the subject he had 
not the courage to say no, and, on the contrary, 
he expressed the hope that the appointment, if 
made, would prove beneficial to the interests of the 
Empire. 

At this juncture another kind friend took it 
upon himself to inform the Crown Prince of what 
was going on. The latter's indignation can be 
guessed sooner than described. He went at once 
to see his father, and declared that he absolutely 
objected to his son being given an authority which 
had been constantly refused to himself. In spite 
of his displeasure, the Emperor had to bow down 
to the reasons invoked by his son, and Prince 

264 



CROSS CURRENTS AT BERLIN 

Hohenlohe was offered the responsible position of 
Governor of Alsace - Lorraine. Prince William, 
who, of course, heard what had happened, became 
very angry, not with his father, but with his 
mother, whom he accused of having interfered in 
this affair, and urged the Crown Prince to express 
his disapproval of it in the energetic way he did. 
I happen to know positively that the Crown Prin- 
cess had heard nothing about the projected ap- 
pointment of her eldest son. No one had ventured 
to mention to her the rumours which were circulat- 
ing on the subject, and the Crown Prince, when he 
repaired to the Emperor, had done so without 
letting the Princess know anything about it. 
Prince William's anger against his mother was as 
unjust as it was unwarranted ; but this episode, 
exposing as it did the rivalries which existed in 
the Royal family, influenced its destinies in a way 
the Crown Princess little suspected. 



265 



CHAPTER XVI. 

Appointment of Count Schouwaloff as Russian Ainbassador in 
Berlin — Our Dinner in his Honour — Its Conseqiiences — 
The Marriage of M. Beimard von Bidmv, the present 
German Chancellor — The Epidemic of Measles — / nearly 
die from them — My Husband'' s serious Illness — Last In- 
terview with the Crown Prince — We are ordered to Egypt 
for my Hushancrs Health — Our Winter there — First 
Rumours aboid the Crotvn Prince''s dangerous State of 
Health. 

When Prince OrlofF died, the question of his suc- 
cessor became a most important one. Relations 
between the Russian and German Governments 
were very strained at that time, and it was recog- 
nised on both sides that a great deal depended upon 
the personalities of the men who had to preside 
over them. I think it was the Emperor William 
himself who suggested the appointment of Count 
Schouwaloff, as a man likely to smooth over any 
difficulties that might arise to accentuate the 
strained situation. Count Schouwaloff had a bril- 
liant military reputation. He was aide-de-camp- 
general to the Emperor, and through his brother, 
Count Peter, the former Ambassador in London 
and Plenipotentiary at the Congress, he possessed 
R great deal more knowledge of the working of 
European politics than any other military man, 
and it was decided in principle that the new 
Ambassador was to be a military man. Count 

266 



BISMARCK'S JEALOUSY 

SchouwaloiF arrived in Berlin, and very soon made 
himself popular ; his wife contributed a good deal 
to his success, and was of the greatest help to 
him in the difficult position he had to face. In 
connection with the Schouwaloffs, an incident oc- 
curred which will curiously illustrate the watch- 
fulness exercised by Prince Bismarck over the 
members of the diplomatic body. 

We had asked the new Ambassador to dinner. 
It was not an official entertainment, and conse- 
quently only a few pleasant people were present to 
meet the Count and Countess. Among them was 
the Bavarian Minister, Count Lerchenfeld, as well as 
a great friend of mine, Count Neipperg, a grandson 
of the second husband of the Empress Marie 
Louise, the consort of the great Napoleon. Count 
Neipperg was an extremely pleasant man, but he 
belonged to the Centre, or Catholic, party in the 
Reichstag, where he sat among the adversaries of 
the Government. I must confess I had not given 
a thought to his political opinions, and had never 
admitted the possibility that they could have 
anything to do with the fact of his being asked 
to dinner. What was my surprise when a few 
days later I received a visit from one of Prince 
Bismarck's lieutenants, who gave me to understand 
that the Chancellor was very angry with me for 
having asked Count Neipperg to dinner, together 
with the Schouwaloffs, and that he hoped I would 
never do such a thing again. One may imagine 
my indignation. Of course I replied to the Chan- 
cellor's ambassador that I could not admit any in- 

267 



MY RECOLLECTIONS 

terference with my guests, and that I should never 
dream of consulting him as to the choice of them. 
This instance will illustrate the despotic sway 
which the powerful Minister believed he had the 
right to exercise, even upon people who, like 
myself, had absolutely nothing to do with politics, 
and no official position whatever. 

That dinner to Count and Countess Schou- 
waloff was, in general, attended with disaster. 
Count Lerchenfeld, who had accepted our invi- 
tation, forgot all about it, and, after we had 
waited more than an hour, we had to sit down 
to table without him, which, of course, upset 
the whole of our arrangements, so that my first 
attempt at hospitality towards the new represen- 
tative of my country was anything but a social 
success. 

That same winter Berlin society was very much 
excited over the marriage of the present German 
Chancellor, Count (then Herr) Bernard von Bulow, 
with Countess Donhoff, nee Princess Camporeale, 
the stepdaughter of the famous Minghetti. Countess 
Donhoff had always had the reputation of being a 
clever and charming woman, and no one deserved 
it better. Her divorce from Count Donhoff had 
attracted a good deal of attention at the time it 
took place, but no one had thought of linking 
another man's name with it. When, therefore, the 
news of her marriage with young Bulow, as he 
was called, was announced, it was a nine days* 
wonder. The couple were singularly well matched. 
It would be out of place for me to say anything 

268 



ILLNESS OF CROWN PRINCE 

in praise of the present German Chancellor. His 
reputation is too well established. 

This same winter of 1885-6 was signalised by 
a most extraordinary epidemic of measles, which 
became prevalent among the smart section of 
BerUn society. I was one of the first attacked, 
and very nearly died from them. No one knew 
whence the disease originated. Every day one 
heard of some well-known person being stricken by 
it, and at last it became a kind of sport to count 
who had escaped, and who had fallen a victim to 
this troublesome complaint. 

The Crown Prince had never had the measles 
in his life before, and was exceedingly frightened 
of them. Of course, at the age he had reached 
the illness was bound to prove serious, and when 
it became known that he had caught it too, great 
anxiety prevailed as to the consequences it might 
have on the general state of his health. He re- 
covered, however, but his throat remained delicate 
for ever afterwards, and there is no doubt whatever 
that it was this illness which was the beginning 
of the one to which he eventually succumbed two 
years later. 

I had scarcely recovered, when my husband 
fell ill too with malarial fever, which very nearly 
carried him off. For weeks he lay between life 
and death, until at last the doctors advised us to 
go and spend the next winter in Egypt, where 
it was hoped the warm and dry cUmate might 
do him good. We therefore made up our minds 
to break up our BerUn home and go away for a 

269 



MY RECOLLECTIONS 

year or so. I did not anticipate, however, that 
this break-up was to become a definite one, and 
that my life in BerHn had come to an end. 

One of the persons I used to see a good deal of 
was the Countess Schleinitz. About a year before 
the time I am speaking of her husband died, and 
as soon as her period of mourning for him had 
come to an end, she married Count Wolkenstein, 
then Austrian Ambassador in St. Petersburg. I 
had gone to Paris to see my friends there, but 
came back the morning of her wedding in order 
to be present at the ceremony. It was at the 
breakfast which followed that I saw the Crown 
Prince for the last time, and that I had with 
him the remarkable conversation I have already 
related in connection with the death of King Louis 
of Bavaria, and the position which, according to 
his ideas, German sovereigns ought to occupy in 
relation to the Empire. The interview I had with 
Frederick III. did not leave me the impression 
of any illness or lack of strength in him. He 
had certainly grown thinner, and complained of 
a delicate throat, but no one thought for one 
moment that it could be anything else but the 
result of the measles, which, attacking him as they 
did at an age when one is generally free from ail- 
ments of the kind, were bound to leave a certain 
amount of weakness behind them. 

We spent the summer in Russia, and after a 
brief visit I made to St. Petersburg to bid good- 
bye to my father, whom I was very loth to leave 
for such a long time, we embarked at Odessa for 

270 



IN THE BOSPHORUS 

Constantinople and Alexandria on board a Rus- 
sian steamer called the Czar. We had a fearful 
crossing to Constantinople, so fearful that my 
brother who had met us at Odessa, with the in- 
tention of accompanying us to Egypt, flatly refused 
to do so, and declared that nothing would induce 
him to spend another week at sea and endure the 
tortures he had suffered. It must be owned that 
we had a very rough voyage, and I believe that, 
with the exception of a certain Mr. Schmidt, the 
head of the Custom House in Alexandria — a very 
pleasant man — and myself, every one on board was 
sick. It was with a feeling of intense relief that 
we anchored in the Bosphorus, and went to seek 
our old haunts of the Hotel d'Angleterre, where 
the celebrated Missiri welcomed us with his beam- 
ing smile and his indifferent food. 

We stayed two days in Constantinople, and 
it was then that I experienced, for the first time, the 
disappointment with which one looks back on 
the scene of former pleasures when circumstances 
have changed, and the people who had made them 
pleasant are dead or gone. Count Corti had left 
us for that last journey from whence there is no 
return; the Dufferins were in India. No one re- 
mained to talk over the days which had been so 
pleasant, and though the German Ambassador, 
Herr von Radowitz, and his wife gave us a warm 
welcome, and did all they could to entertain 
us, yet the contrast with my first stay in Constan- 
tinople made itself felt at each step, and the 
impression I carried away from this second visit 

271 



MY RECOLLECTIONS 

was more a painful one than anything else. We 
went, of course, again to St. Sophia, which I was 
anxious to show to my little daughters ; but there 
also things had altered, this time for the best, 
and whereas in 1881 we had needed a kawass, and 
a special permission, we found that a very small 
baksheesh would let us in. A peep at the Bazaar, 
and a walk, or rather drive, around the old walls 
and the famous Seven Towers, or what remains 
of them, was about all we did in Constantinople. 

We left it in glorious weather, and after a stay of 
several hours in Smyrna, which struck me as being 
the most Eastern-looking town I had yet seen, we 
landed at Alexandria and took up our quarters at 
the Hotel Khedivial, the garden of which, with its 
palm-trees, impressed me most pleasantly. Two 
days later we went on to Cairo, and very soon 
were settled there for the winter. 

Cairo in 1886 was not quite given up to Cook's 
tourists to the extent that it is now. Hotels 
were still few and far between, and Shepheard was 
the rendezvous of good society. It was most 
amusing to sit on the terrace and look at the 
various sights which make Cairo such an excep- 
tional place. We found a number of friends, who 
did all they could to make our stay amusing 
and entertaining. Foremost among them was 
Mr. (now Sir Edgar) Vincent, who most amiably 
took me over the principal sights of the town. 
These, of course, proved attractive, and I think I 
shall never forget my first acquaintance with the 
•desert, and my ride on donkey-back to the cele- 

272 



THE SPHINX BY MOONLIGHT 

I)rated tombs of the Caliphs outside Cairo, on one 
of those lovely moonlight nights one only meets 
there, which are not comparable to anything else 
in this world. The desert is, in my opinion, the 
greatest attraction in Cairo. Rides there possess 
a peculiar charm which cannot be described, but 
which I beUeve has been felt by all those who have 
had the occasion to enjoy them. 

The Pyramids, on the contrary, did not impress 
me as I had thought they would, perhaps because 
I had expected so much from them. The Sphinx 
also was a distinct disappointment, and at first I 
could not find any beauty in its broken nose and 
blurred face. It was only months later, as my stay 
in Egypt was drawing to its close, that suddenly 
one night the beauty of this marvellous creature 
burst upon me, and the sensation of it has never 
left me since. I should always advise people in 
search of the secret of the Sphinx to see it first 
by moonlight. Then, and then only, does one 
realise all that its figure means, and the spell 
which it is bound to exercise over all those who 
give a thought to the great hereafter which awaits 
us all. 

Cairo was then, as it is now, a very gay place. 
The French Consul- General was Count d'Aunay, 
whose wife, an American, Miss Burdan, the sister 
of Mrs. Marion Crawford, was an old acquaintance 
of mine. She was extremely pretty and attractive, 
and I saw a good deal of her, and remember with 
great pleasure and genuine gratitude the kindness 
I experienced at her hands. 

278 T 



MY RECOLLECTIONS 

England had already as her diplomatic agent 
Lord Cromer, who had not yet received that title, 
and was known as Sir Evelyn Baring. He was 
the same man then as he is now, and I have seldom 
seen any one who has changed so little in the 
course of long years. His wife, Lady Baring, 
was, of course, the leading lady in Cairo society, 
and her house was certainly the most hospitable 
one there. She had more tact than any other 
living woman, and had only friends. Her exquisite 
courtesy corrected much that was off- hand and 
even brusque in her husband's manners, and invi- 
tations to the British Agency were most eagerly 
sought after, by all the new arrivals, as well as 
by the old residents of Cairo. 

At the time I am speaking of, England, though 
she had made up her mind to stay in Egypt, had 
not yet openly acknowledged that intention, and 
speculations were rife as to the probable length 
of her occupation of the country. The political 
situation was rather strained between the French 
and English Governments, and I believe that 
neither of the representatives of the two Powers 
had altogether a pleasant time of it. The Khedive 
was but a docile instrument in the skilful hands 
of Sir Evelyn Baring, and though the latter some- 
times experienced opposition to certain of his 
plans from the wary Nubar Pacha, yet he contrived 
generally to have his own way. 

Nubar Pacha, who occupied the responsible 
position of Prime Minister, was one of the most 
curious types of men it has been my fortune 

274 



NUBAR PACHA 

to meet. He had all the cunning of the Ar- 
menian race to which he belonged, combined 
with the advantages of a European education, 
and being, moreover, the only man among the 
Khedive's advisers who could be called a states- 
man, he managed sometimes to hold his own 
against the obstinate and shrewd British Agent - 
General. Personally old Nubar was most at- 
tractive, his intercourse was absolutely fascinating, 
and his knowledge not only of all the finesses of 
the French language, but also of the kind of 
blague and bagout of the boulevards, added to 
the wit of his conversation. Madame Nubar had 
the gift as well as the love of entertaining, and her 
two charming daughters, the youngest married to 
Tigrane Pacha, then Under-Secretary of State 
for Foreign Affairs, as well as her sister, Madame 
Capamadgian, helped their mother with an ex- 
quisite grace to do the honours of her house. 
Twice a week there were evening receptions, 
dans la maison Nuhar, as it was called, and no 
one who could help it ever missed one of these 
entertainments, at which one was sure to meet 
all the interesting people who were either living 
in, or had arrived as visitors to, Cairo. 

It was at the Nubars' that I saw, for the first 
time, Lord Rosebery, then on his way home from 
India, where he had spent some months together 
with Lady Rosebery, and the Earl, now Duke, of 
Fife. Their arrival in Cairo had made quite a 
little commotion, and, of course, they were the 
objects of general curiosity. 

275 



MY RECOLLECTIONS 

The receptions of the Vicereine were quite a 
feature in the social hfe of Cairo : they used to 
take place every Tuesday, and it would have 
been hard to realise that one was in an Oriental 
harem, had it not been for the female attend- 
ants in their Eastern dresses who met the 
visitors, and escorted them to their mistress. 
The Khediviah, as she was called, was a very 
pretty woman, always exquisitely dressed in the 
latest Parisian fashion, speaking French perfectly, 
and in manners and bearing quite like any high 
born and bred European great lady. In general 
the Princesses of the Khedivial family were ad- 
mirably brought up, and in no way different from 
women having had all the advantages of life, such 
as we understand them. The severe rules which 
still prevail in Constantinople as to the liberty 
enjoyed by women do not exist in Egypt, where 
practically the only restraint imposed on females 
is the obligation of wearing a very thin and trans- 
parent veil when they go out. They occupy 
boxes at the opera, from whence they can assist 
at the representations, and behind the curtains 
of which one can see them very well. When 
the Khedive gave his annual ball, the Vicereine 
used to look at the entertainment from behind a 
screen, and to summon to her presence all the 
ladies she knew, for a cup of tea and a few 
moments' chat. Tewfik Pacha himself was a 
quiet, morose man, who used to feel bitterly his 
helplessness in the matter of the government of 
his country. He was neither amusing nor enter- 

276 



AN EGYPTIAN PRINCESS 

taining, from a worldly point of view, and I 
remember that when I was asked to dine at 
the Abdin Palace I tried in vain every subject 
of conversation I thought would be likely to suit 
him, without the least success. Every remark 
I made fell flat, until at last I gave it up and 
turned in despair to my other neighbour, who 
was the German Consul-General, Count Arco. 

Count Arco deserves special mention. He 
was considered one of the cleverest men in the 
service, and would probably, had he not died at 
an early age, have had a brilliant career. He 
belonged to the number of Prince Bismarck's per- 
sonal friends, and at a moment when it required 
a great amount of courage to do so, he had gone 
to see him at Friedrichsruhe, for which he had 
almost been dismissed from the diplomatic service. 

Among the many notabilities of Cairo, the 
Princess Nazli, cousin of the Khedive, certainly 
ranked among the foremost. She was an extra- 
ordinary mixture of European education blended 
with Eastern ideas. She had completely emanci- 
pated herself from the few restraints imposed on 
her sex, and used to receive male visitors every 
afternoon at her house. Her teas, as one called 
them, were among the most amusing gather- 
ings in Cairo, and nothing struck one as more 
strange than to see an English officer, or foreign 
diplomat, introduced by a slave in gorgeous gar- 
ments into the presence of the amiable Princess, 
whose dress, by a strange peculiarity, had more 
of the Oriental character than that of the other 

277 



MY RECOLLECTIONS 

ladies in the Khedivial family. Princess Nazli was 
a power in politics, and a strong supporter of the 
English occupation. Her opinions were not looked 
upon with unmixed approbation by Tewfik Pacha, 
and Nubar was loud in his execration of them, 
but the Turkish custom of ignoring women did 
not permit the Government to openly express its 
disapproval of the conduct of Princess NazU, and 
this allowed her to air her views with perfect 
impunity. She was very clever, and used to 
make fun of those whom she did not like in a 
comic sort of way which was most amusing. 

Society in Cairo was a perfect kaleidoscope 
of new faces and strange encounters. In those 
winter months I came across men like the Pere 
Didon, who had just incurred the blame of the 
Papal Court, and who was on his way back from 
the Holy Land, where he had been collecting 
materials for his life of Christ. I remember having 
had a conversation with him on board a boat which 
was taking us to Memphis, together with a large 
party, on the divinity of Jesus. I could not ask 
him, of course, what he really thought about it, but 
I remember one curious remark he made to me, 
and which has often haunted me since. It was to 
the effect that he thought Christ cared more for 
people doing what He told them than believing in 
His divine personality. 

Hamilton Aid6 was also a visitor to Cairo 
during that winter, delightful and charming as 
he ever is, and his presence was eagerly sought 
after at aU the entertainments, of which the name 

278 



THE SPELL OF THE DESERT 

was legion, which were given by the different 
leaders of society ; and the Brasseys, too, whose 
Sunbeam was at Port Said, made a flitting ap- 
parition in the Egyptian capital, from whence 
Lady Brassey started on that sad journey of which 
she was not destined to see the end. And one day 
I was shown, at a reception at the British Legation, 
a young officer, arrived that same morning from 
Suakim, on a short visit, who in later years was to 
become Lord Kitchener of Khartoum. 

Yes, these were merry days, and I sometimes 
have reproached myself for my gaiety at that 
time, though perhaps it is well it was granted to 
me. I was in despair when the time came to bid 
good-bye to Egypt and its many attractions, and 
went round with a heavy heart to see once more 
all the spots which I liked best. Mr. (now Sir A.) 
Hamilton Lang, then at the head of the Daira 
Sanieh, took us for a farewell excursion to the Tomb 
of Ti and the pyramids of Sakharah ; and I think I 
shall never forget the desert as it looked that night 
white and still under the rays of the moon. I sat 
for a long time at the window of Mariette's little 
house staring at this immensity, which suddenly 
seemed to make me realise that of the world, and 
the nothingness of human ambitions, and human 
life. There is a solemnity in the desert it is diffi- 
cult to describe. It is not as if centuries stared at 
one from its immensity ; it is more like as if one 
stared oneself at its vastness, and all that it 
represents in the history, as well as in the fate of 
mankind. 

279 



MY RECOLLECTIONS 

I have said nothing about the various mosques- 
and monuments which make Cairo such a wonderful 
and interesting place. I have only a vivid remem- 
brance of my visit to the Mussulman University 
of El Azar, because it is the only place where I 
was distinctly insulted by some dervishes, in spite 
of the kavass from the Consulate who accom- 
panied me. But in this centre of Mohammedan 
fanaticism the presence of a European lady excited 
such indignation, that 1 was greeted with all kind 
of epithets, which were, so far as I understood 
them, anything but complimentary. 

As a contrast to this reception, I was warmly 
welcomed at the house of the Scheik El Sadad, 
one of the notabilities of Cau'o, whose family is 
supposed to be descended in a straight line from 
the Prophet. He asked me to come and dine 
with his wife, or rather wives — he had three of 
them — and in a rash moment I accepted. The 
meal was very elaborate, being a true Oriental 
one, partaken at a small table, and with the help 
of a spoon only, without knives and forks. If I 
remember rightly, I think we had something like 
seventeen courses, each of which I was compelled 
to taste. 

It was towards the end of our Egyptian winter 
that rumours, vague at first, then more and more 
decided, reached us as to the state of health of 
the Crown Prince, and the dreaded word ' cancer ' 
was pronounced. The news came as a stunning 
blow, but one hoped against hope that the 
doctors were mistaken, and that it was only a 

280 



THE PRINCESS FREDERICK'S AGONY 

passing ailment from which he was suffering. His- 
presence in Berlin at the festivities connected with 
the celebration of the old Emperor's seventieth 
birthday made us think that, perhaps, after all, the 
matter was not so serious as it was reported. 
But even in those early days of the tragedy, to- 
wards which we were going with quick paces, my 
thoughts were never absent from the Crown Prin- 
cess. I knew what this would mean to her, and 
what silent agony she must be enduring. I never 
guessed though to what it would lead, nor sus- 
pected the kind of Calvary she was destined ta 
climb. 



281 



CHAPTER XVII. 

We return to Russia — The Emperor Williani's Death — The 
Beginning and End of a Reign — My Father''s Death — 
We settle in St. Petersburg — The First Days of the Empress 
Frederick'' s Widowhood — St. Petersburg Society under 
Alexander III. — BismarcFs Fall — A Season in London — 
The Duke of YorFs Wedding. 

I RETURNED to Russia in June, 1887, with my 
children, and my husband joined me there a few 
months later from Germany, whither he had gone 
on leaving Cairo. That year proved to be a sad 
one. My father's health began to fail, and it was 
evident to all who saw him that the end could not 
be far off. The news we received from Berlin was 
also far from being reassuring, and it soon became 
certain that the Crown Prince's days were also 
numbered. The person who, I believe, had the 
fewest illusions on the subject was the Crown 
Princess herself. I do not think she had any hope 
from the moment the true nature of the disease 
under which her husband was struggling was re- 
vealed to her. I think that, between the two, it 
was he who looked more brightly at the terrible 
situation which stared them both in the face. 

The Empress never alluded to it in later 
years, save in the vaguest way. She had suffered 
far too much to care to speak of these hours 
of silent agony, of which the most acute, per- 

282 



DEATH OF THE OLD KAISER 

flaps, was the misunderstanding which had grown 
between herself and her eldest son. Among 
the many lies that have been said, as well as 
written, about the Empress, there is one which 
has come to be accepted as true even by some 
of her friends, and that is, that she never liked the 
present German Emperor. Now, so far as I know, 
ishe always had for him, at the bottom of her heart, 
a preference which only added bitterness to the 
•events which alienated them from each other for 
some time. He represented to her those first 
-emotions of motherhood a woman can never forget 
in after life ; her first hopes, her first joys, had 
been associated with him ; to him she had owed the 
pride of having presented an heir to the kingdom 
over which she believed she would have to rule. 
He had been the object of her tenderest solicitude, 
of her most affectionate care, and she had been 
proud of his great talents and abilities. 

I was in St. Petersburg when the old Emperor 
Wilham died. The event, in spite of his great 
age, came as a shock, not only to those who knew 
him, but to the world in general. He had come 
to be considered in the light of an institu- 
tion, and the possibility of his death occurring 
before that of his stricken son had scarcely oc- 
curred to people as within the limits of proba- 
bility. With him came to an end a whole 
period in the history not only of his own 
country, but also of the world. Upright, con- 
scientious, true, admirably unselfish, WiUiam I. 
will be remembered as a man who, without being 

283 



MY RECOLLECTIONS 

really great, yet achieved great things. He was 
universally regretted, and even his most bitter foes 
shed tears over his grave. His son, when he 
ascended the throne, surprised every one by the 
energy with which, half-dying, he stuck to his 
duties, and picked up the reins of government. 
The two letters he addressed to the German people 
and to the Chancellor, will for ever be quoted as 
one of the most admirable programmes a sovereign 
could unfold on assuming a crown. Unhappily, it 
was to remain a programme, and the noble spirit 
whose pen traced those eloquent words, was 
destined to be quenched almost before they were 
dry on the paper on which they had been 
written. 

I did not see the Emperor after he ascended the 
throne. My husband went to take leave of him, 
as I have already related, and brought me back a 
message of farewell, which I shall always treasure. 
He related to me that his composure almost 
forsook him when he was introduced in the 
presence of the dying monarch. Indeed, all those 
who approached Frederick III. were impressed in 
the like way by the heroic courage with which he 
waited for death. The Empress, too, was admir- 
able, as she always showed herself during her 
whole life ; her thorough unselfishness never 
appeared to greater advantage than during those 
short three months in which she wore the Imperial 
Crown, and she carried it so far, that she actually 
left her husband for a few hours to go and super- 
intend herself the relief of the victims of the 

284 



THE REIGN OF FREDERICK III. 

inundations of Silesia, and what that supreme 
sacrifice must have cost her, no one but herself 
ever knew. 

This brief reign of Frederick III. was marked 
by many anxieties and sorrows. The quarrel 
which took place between the Empress and Prince 
Bismarck, concerning the marriage of the Princess 
Victoria with the Prince of Bulgaria, was cer- 
tainly one of the things which troubled him the 
most. Then there happened the Puttkamer 
incident, and various other small events, which 
embittered his last days. The marriage of his 
second son. Prince Henry, with the Princess 
Irene of Hesse, brought a ray of light into the 
darkness of the suffering in which his remaining 
days were spent, but it did not bring him that 
peace in which his friends would have liked his 
last hours to pass ; and when he died, he was 
so thoroughly worn out, in mind as well as in 
body, that it is probable the advent of the dread 
angel was more of a relief to him than any- 
thing else. 

On the 29th of April, of that same year 1888, 
my father died, thus adding another sorrow to 
those I had already. His death, and some com- 
plications which followed upon it, connected with 
the disposal of his property, obliged us to settle 
in Russia, where my husband became naturalised. 
We gave up our Berlin establishment, and took a 
house in St. Petersburg, and thus my hfe changed 
completely, and I returned to the country which I 
ought never to have left. 

285 



MY RECOLLECTIONS 

It was about that same time that a curious inci- 
dent occurred which had a certain influence over the 
politics of Russia, and in which I happened to be 
accidentally mixed up. 

The reader remembers perhaps the episode of 
certain documents concerning Bulgarian affairs, 
which were sent to the Emperor Alexander of 
Russia, and which Prince Bismarck pronounced 
to be forgeries. Speculation was rife as to who 
could have given them to the sovereign whose 
wrath they had excited. I believe that to this 
day the matter has not been explained. A strange 
accident put me in possession of the name of the 
person who performed that daring deed, but this 
is not the place to mention it. It is sufficient 
to say here, that the sending of the papers origi- 
nated from the circle of the immediate friends and 
supporters of General Boulanger, who was at that 
time at the height of his popularity. After the 
Berlin interview, these people, in order to counteract 
the effect of the repudiations of Prince Bismarck, 
sent another batch of papers to the Russian Court, 
by one of the confidants of Boulanger, and by a 
young lady whose name has often been mentioned 
since, Miss Maud Gonne, who arrived in St. 
Petersburg in the spring of that year 1888, and 
spent some weeks at the Hotel de I'Europe, 
where I was staying too. Through an introduction 
which I procured for her, the documents were 
handed over to M. Pobedonostseff", the Procurator 
of the Holy Synod, and by him put under the eyes 
of Alexander III. The result was the dispatch, 

286 



SOCIETY AT ST. PETERSBURG 

some time later, of the Russian squadron to 
Toulon. 

During the spring that Miss Gonne was 
staying at the Hotel de I'Europe, St. Petersburg, 
Mr. Stead was also in the capital of Russia, and 
staying at the same hotel. They often used 
to meet in my rooms, and the talks we had 
together laid the foundations of my later friend- 
ship with Mr. Stead. St. Petersburg society was 
very brilliant at that time I am speaking of. 
Though my aunt, the Princess Kotchoubey, had 
died a few weeks before my father, I had plenty 
of friends and relations, and, besides all the 
family ties which made it so dear to me, I found 
much to interest me in politics, as well as in 
other things. General Tcherewine, whom I have 
already mentioned, was one of my greatest 
friends, together with M. Wischnegradski, the 
Finance Minister, who was all-powerful. Through 
them a quantity of information reached me, and 
gave me grounds for interesting myself, not only 
in the doings of society, but also in the great work 
to which Alexander III. devoted all his life, 
that of ameliorating the condition of the country, 
for which these were eventful years. The famine 
of 1891 exercised an immense influence over its 
development, and whilst arresting it on some 
points, stimulated its energies in others. Foreign 
politics, too, underwent a thorough transformation, 
and the French Alliance, which under Nicholas II. 
was to become an accomplished fact, was first 
mooted and discussed. Every day brought a fresh 

287 



MY RECOLLECTIONS 

incident, and it would take volumes to relate all I 
remember about that time, where, unfortunately, 
I have got but a few pages. 

In 1890 the world was startled by the news 
that Prince Bismarck had been dismissed by his 
sovereign. The event came as a thunder- clap to 
the general public, though all those who had 
watched the progress of events at the Court of 
Berhn were more or less prepared for it. For my 
part, I felt sure the powerful Minister and the 
young Emperor would not hit it together for a 
long time. William II. was not the kind of 
monarch to submit to being kept in bondage, and 
Bismarck was not one to brook resistance in any 
shape or form. These two temperaments had to 
clash, sooner or later, and yet no one expected that 
the close friends of 1888 would in such a short 
time become irreconcilable enemies, and the world 
had a right to expect that the great genius to 
whom Germany owed its unity would take his 
banishment with more dignity than he did. 
Bismarck, becoming the head of the opposition 
against the Crown — of which he had been the 
staunchest supporter — was a spectacle no one had 
foreseen, and it was painful to the friends, as well 
as to the foes, of the first Chancellor of the new 
German Empire. 

There is an incident associated with this event 
which is not known generally, and which gives it a 
pathos akin almost to that of a Greek tragedy. 
When Bismarck saw that he was doomed, he 
turned towards his victim of bygone years, and 

288 



HATFIELD 

asked the Empress Frederick to plead for him with 
her son. The Empress was a woman, and she 
could not resist the temptation of retaliating for 
all she had been made to endure, and to the letter 
of her old enemy she simply replied ' that he had 
so well destroyed any influence she might have 
had over her son, that she could not, with any 
hope of success, interfere in the matter of his 
going or staying.' 

But she was human, after all, and she must 
have felt revenged when she found she was once 
more in the position of granting or refusing some- 
thing to the man who had opposed her so con- 
stantly, and treated her so mercilessly. 

In 1891 my eldest son's health necessitated a 
sojourn in a milder climate than Russia, and we 
took a house for eight months in Jersey. Whilst 
there we often went to London, and it was in the 
course of that summer that we were asked for the 
first time to stay at Hatfield House. Needless to 
relate the impression produced on me by the old 
home of the Cecils. A more noble mansion than 
that old Jacobean building it would be difficult to 
find. But what constituted its greatest charm was 
the kindness of the hosts, and the intellectual 
enjoyment one carried away from those historic 
halls, over which two such exceptional people as 
the late Lord and Lady Salisbury presided. 
They belonged to that rare type, which disappears 
every day, of the real Grand Seigneurs, in- 
variably courteous, invariably amiable, invariably 
kind, and invariably interesting. The very air 

289 u' 



MY RECOLLECTIONS 

one breathed had something different than that 
of other places, and one felt from the first 
moment one entered those hospitable doors, that 
all the petty meannesses which tend so often to 
make human life a miserable thing were totally 
absent from that centre of cleverness over which 
the descendant of Elizabeth's great Minister and 
his accomplished wife presided with such quaint 
dignity and such high-bred good grace. 

Two years later we were once more in England. 
My daughter had been presented, and I wished 
to give her the pleasure of a London season. 
We arrived in London in May, and remained until 
the beginning of July. The Liberals were then in 
power, and the famous Bill concerning the death 
duties was being discussed in the House. Public 
feeling was running very high, and, as the circle in 
which we moved was essentially a Conservative 
one, we used to hear violent abuse and denuncia- 
tions of Mr. Gladstone and his politics. I met the 
great man himself at a dinner at the Russian 
Embassy, and I must say I was intensely dis- 
appointed in him. I had expected something 
quite different, and I thought with regret of Lord 
Beaconsfield and his great powers of fascination. 
And yet, as a whole, I found myself far more 
in sympathy with Mr. Gladstone's opinions. He 
had an ideal, which very few people possess 
nowadays, and one could see at once that he was 
in earnest, and that he had not looked lightly 
on anything he had done. But, though his 
speeches have always appealed to me, his person 

290 



MR. JOHN MORLEY 

has not. I did not take to him, to use a vulgar 
expression, and I think I hke him far better now 
that I have read his biography by Mr. Morley, 
than when I used to meet him himself. 

Talking of Mr. Morley reminds me that I used 
to meet him, too, in society, during that same 
London season. He was an absolutely delightful 
man, and his conversation was one of the most 
enjoyable things society could offer one. I shall 
never forget some talks I had with him. 

During the months we spent in London, two 
events took place. One was the going down of 
the Victoria. The news of it arrived a few hours 
before a Court ball, which was instantly counter- 
manded by the Queen, with her usual tact and 
foresight. In society, too, the shock was very 
great, and for days one talked and heard of 
nothing else. 

The second event was the marriage of the Duke 
of York. Many Royalties came from the Con- 
tinent to be present, amongst others our Grand 
Duke Cesarewitch, now the Emperor Nicholas II. 
His visit was looked upon with great interest, and 
every possible honour was shown to him. He 
was present at a State ball which took place a few 
days before the wedding, as well as at a party given 
at the Russian Embassy, where M. and Madame 
de Staal welcomed not only the English Royal 
family, but also the King and Queen of Denmark, 
who were in England for the marriage of their 
first grandson. 

The marriage was celebrated at St. James's 
291 



MY RECOLLECTIONS 

Palace with great pomp. We had a house in 
Clarges Street, and from our windows obtained 
an excellent sight of the procession as it passed 
along Piccadilly. The Queen was in a State 
carriage, with the Duchess of Teck, kind and 
popular Princess Mary, sitting opposite to her. 
The latter looked beaming, and the Queen also 
had one of those winning smiles which lent such 
singular beauty to her features. 

In going over these years, which seem so 
near and yet so far away, I have not mentioned 
the first interview I had with the Empress 
Frederick after her widowhood. It took place 
in Berlin, in the autumn of 1890. She was in 
the capital for a few days, and I was also passing 
through it on my way to Paris. Of course, I 
asked to see her, and she received me, in the 
evening, in the room in which we used to 
assemble prior to her making her appearance, 
at the parties she used to give as Crown Princess. 
It had been partly refurnished since I had seen 
it last, and the magnificent picture of the Em- 
peror, in his white Cuirassier uniform, by Angeli, 
was hanging on the wall surrounded by a gar- 
land of green laurels. The Empress was standing 
under it when I was ushered into the room, 
and she made two steps towards me. I could 
not speak, but only go up to her and kiss her 
hand in silence. She also seemed on the point 
of breaking down, and something like a sob 
escaped her. But she soon recovered her usual 
composure, and after a few brief remarks, such 

292 



THE EMPRESS FREDERICK 

as ' You did not expect to find me like that,' 
she quickly changed the conversation, and be- 
came her own sweet self once more. Her hair 
had grown white, but her eyes had the same 
beautiful soft look they had possessed before, though 
surrounded by that red circle only to be seen 
where many tears have been shed. Her manner, 
too, had slightly changed, and the vivacity which 
had distinguished it before had vanished, never 
to return. Her whole appearance revealed an 
intensity of suffering, but suffering nobly borne, 
nobly endured, suffering out of which she had 
come better, kinder, than she had been before, 
if that had been possible. She spoke of all 
the things in which she had felt an interest, 
before the tragedy of her life had been accom- 
plished. A few other people besides myself were 
there, among them Professor Helmholtz and 
his wife, the niece of old Madame von Mohl. 
The Empress had a word for every one, and 
talked with the same animation as of old. But 
for those who knew her, it was easy to see how 
much the effort cost her, and how thoroughly she 
had mastered that great secret of conquering one- 
self, which so very few have grasped. 



293 



CHAPTER XVIII. 

The Winter of 1893-1894 — Beginning of the Illness of 
Alexander III. — Our Journey to Italy — An Audience of 
Pope Leo XIII. — Cardinal Ledochowski — Another Sum' 
mer in England — Death of Alexander III. 

The winter of 1893-1894 was an eventful one in 
the sense that it was the last of Alexander III.'s 
life and reign. It opened briUiantly, and at 
Court, as weU as in society, balls and festivities 
were announced to take place in a greater number 
than had been the case in former years. An Eng- 
lish friend of mine, the Duchess of Buckingham 
and Chandos, came to pay us a long visit, and we 
tried to make her stay in St. Petersburg as pleasant 
as we could. The first great Court ball was an- 
nounced, and invitations for it were already issued^ 
when I was startled one evening by hearing from 
General Tcherewine that the Emperor had been 
taken suddenly and alarmingly ill. We had 
never heard that there was anything the matter 
with his health, and, as it turned out afterwards, 
no one, even among the members of his family, 
had suspected he was suffering from a mortal dis- 
ease. When this first sharp attack, which was 
nothing else than the beginning of the end, seized 
hold of him, people called it influenza, and refused 
to recognise its gravity. The facts of the case 
were, that the Emperor had never been well since 

294 



A JOURNEY TO ITALY 

the railway accident at Borki, but his was not a 
nature that complained, and he had kept to him- 
self the feeling of ill-health which he had experi- 
enced. One does not care in Russia to speak of 
the ill-health of any members of the Imperial 
family, especially of the sovereign, and though it 
was not possible to keep the public in ignorance of 
the sudden collapse in his strength, which occurred 
at the time I am speaking of, the bulletins made 
light of his illness, which was attributed to a chill 
and nothing else. Of course, the Court ball was 
countermanded, but as soon as Alexander III. 
was up again, it took place, and no one dared 
to notice the haggard looks of the unfortunate 
Emperor. The only person who dared say that 
there was anything seriously amiss was General 
Tcherewine, and he confided to me in secret that 
he thought matters were far more serious than the 
public suspected. 

In March of the same year we took my 
daughter to Italy, where I wished her to make 
acquaintance with the wonders of Florence and 
Rome. A few days before we started, the fifty 
years' jubilee of a charitable institution called the 
Community of the Holy Trinity, a nursing home 
for poor people, was celebrated in St. Petersburg. 
Being under the patronage of several members 
of the Imperial family, and having been founded 
by one of the daughters of Nicholas I., it 
had always enjoyed special privileges, and on the 
occasion to which I refer, the Emperor and 
Empress themselves were present at the jubilee 

295 



MY RECOLLECTIONS 

celebrations. I was interested in this hospital, and 
on very friendly terms with the lady who was at 
the head of it, Mile. A baza, the sister of the former 
Finance Minister, M. Abaza. I was invited to the 
divine service which was celebrated in the chapel 
of the establishment, after which we (by which I 
mean the few ladies present) assembled in the 
surgery, where the sovereigns came to speak to 
us. It was then that I was struck by the ex- 
treme change which had taken place in the 
countenance of the Emperor. The few times I 
had seen him during the winter season had been 
in the evening, when it was difficult to judge of 
his looks and the colour of his complexion. On 
this brilliant March morning, and in the bare 
whitewashed room in which we were gathered 
together, I was struck by his appearance and the 
ravages of his physiognomy. He appeared to 
have aged suddenly twenty years, and his skin was 
quite yellow, whilst an air of indescribable fatigue 
pervaded his whole person. I somehow felt con- 
vinced that his days were numbered, and that I 
was looking upon him for the last time. He came 
up to me and spoke a few words. On my telling 
him, in reply to one of his questions, that we were 
going abroad in a few days, he made the remark 
that he could not understand why people were 
always doing so. I replied that it was in order to 
escape the spring season in St. Petersburg, which 
was always so trying, and without reflecting on 
what I was saying, added, ' I think your Majesty 
would also benefit through a trip to a better 

296 



ROME 

climate.' He smiled wearily, and replied, ' Ah 1 
but I cannot do what I would like to do.' 

On my return home, the Emperor's look of 
suffering haunted me, and I told my husband 
and daughter that I did not think he could live 
long. My forebodings turned out to be but too 
true, and I never saw Alexander HI. after that 
day. When we returned to Russia, in November 
of that same year, he had been dead some days. 

We spent a few very pleasant weeks in 
Italy. We met many old friends in Rome, and 
thoroughly enjoyed our stay there from the social 
point of view. The very day after our arrival, 
a former acquaintance of ours, the Baron Zorn 
de Bulach, who had recently entered holy orders, 
and who at present is Bishop of Strasburg, came 
to see us, and brought us tickets for St. Peter's, 
where the ceremony of the canonisation of a new 
saint was to take place, in the presence of the Pope 
himself. In those days these tickets were rather 
difficult to obtain, and we were very glad to have 
an opportunity of seeing Leo XIII. We started 
accordingly in good time, and though we arrived 
about an hour earlier than the ceremony was 
to take place, we found almost all the places 
in the different tribunes occupied, and could 
only with the greatest difficulty force our way 
through the immense and compact crowd which 
iilled the vast cathedral. St. Peter's in its best 
clothes — for the Italian custom of draping the 
walls of the churches in red silk, can be called 
clothing them — did not impress me favourably. 

297 



MY KECOLLECTIONS 

It looked too gorgeous, far too showy, and the 
true spirit of Christianity was as far away from it 
as possible. This first impression was accentuated,, 
when shouts proceeding from the aisle of the 
church announced the advent of the Pope. 

First appeared a long procession of bishops^ 
monks, archbishops and cardinals, all of them 
carrying lighted tapers in their hands. They came 
slowly, two by two, and were followed by a de- 
tachment of Swiss Guards in their quaint scarlet 
uniforms, and the whole procession seemed in- 
terminable, as it uncoiled itself from the depths 
of the immense cathedral. Seen in the dusk of a 
spring evening, by the flickering light of thousands 
of wax candles, it had a weird, an almost uncanny 
appearance. All these shapes of monks and priests, 
moving noiselessly about, reminded one of a scene 
in an opera, rather than a ceremony in a church. 
There was nothing real about it. The building 
as well as the men who filled it, struck one as a 
vast assemblage of ghosts, gathered together in a 
spot just as ghostly as they were themselves 
phantoms. 

At last, borne high on the shoulders of 
the Noble Guard, with two enormous fans of 
ostrich feathers carried behind him, the Pope 
himself appeared, greeted by maddening shouts 
of ' Evviva il Papa Re!' ' Long live the Pope 
King.' Impassive as a statue, Leo XIII. sat 
rigid on the Sedia gestatoria, with his two fingers 
lifted up in a sign of benediction. His pale 
emaciated face struck one as something too 

298 



LEO XIII. 

diaphanous for this world. Even the eyes had a 
dull look, and an almost glassy expression. Not 
a muscle on his face moved, not a sign of emotion 
did he exhibit, amidst the passionate enthusiasm 
with which he was received by a crowd who, it 
was evident, was gathered together only for a 
political manifestation. As I watched that silent, 
haughty, hieratic figure, I suddenly understood 
what I had not been able to comprehend until 
then, the power wielded by the Church of Rome, 
simply through its immobility, and its stagnation 
into paths which the human mind has left long 
ago. The whole force exercised by superstition, 
when it is transformed into an instrument of faiths 
struck me as forcibly as unpleasantly, and I 
realised the disgust which must have seized some 
independent spirits in the centuries gone by, when 
they saw the Church of Christ transformed into a 
kingdom of ignorance and superstition. In spite 
of the Pope's gesture of blessing, there was nothing 
kind, still less divine, in his appearance. It re- 
minded one of the car of Juggernaut, and seemed 
as merciless and inexorable as the chariot of the 
Indian god. 

There was a moment of silence as the choristers^ 
intoned the ' Tu es Petrus ' of the celebrated 
anthem. Suddenly the white apparition, upoa 
which all eyes were riveted, disappeared ; one saw 
nothing but a mass of red and violet robes 
prostrated before something one could not per- 
ceive, and the glimmer of the innumerable tapers 
lighted up the gold and silver of hundreds of 

299 



MY RECOLLECTIONS 

mitres lowered to the ground. In this confusion 
the brain reeled, and the eyesight seemed suddenly 
to have grown dim. Then gradually, very gradu- 
ally, one could just guess, rather than see, a white 
shadow kneeling before the grave of St. Peter. 

A moment's breathless pause, and then the 
sublime voice of the choir rose up again, and 
another one was heard singing softly, ' Benedicat 
DOS, Pater, et Filius, et Spiritus Sanctus,' and one 
realised that it was the voice of Leo XIII., 
invoking a blessing upon the crowd before which 
he had just knelt himself. 

It all seemed a dream, and before one was 
awake all had disappeared, the white-robed pontiff, 
and the clergy in its splendid vestments, and the 
Swiss Guard with their drawn swords. There 
remained nothing but a panting crowd, struggling 
to come out of the church. 

A few days later we were admitted into the 
presence of Leo XIII. This audience will always 
remain impressed upon my mind. It was fixed 
for an early hour, as we were invited to be present 
iit the Pope's Mass, which was considered a great 
privilege. Punctually at seven o'clock we were 
climbing the many flights of stairs which lead to 
the pontiff's private apartments in the Vatican. 
We passed through immense halls, in each of 
which a sentinel was on duty, and we reached one 
smaller than the rest, where two monsignori were 
waiting for us. We found that there were about 
six people convoked for the ceremony, and we 
were introduced into another apartment, where 

300 



THE POPE'S MASS 

faldstools were standing opposite a close door. 
After a waiting which appeared very long, this door 
suddenly opened without warning, and a figure 
wrapped up in a scarlet cloak appeared before one 
had had time to realise what it was, or to recognise 
the Pope. The apparition seemed fantastic ; 
fantastic also the large gesture of benediction with 
which he sprinkled with holy water the assistants. 
Then he disappeared again, and the doors closed 
upon him, to open once more, a few minutes later, 
disclosing to our eyes Leo XIII. at the altar, 
reciting, in that melodious, peculiar voice of his> 
the Conjiteor. 

The mass went on, said simply, but with a 
pathos which could not fail to impress itself upon 
the imagination of the listeners. Certainly the art 
of appearances had been closely studied by the late 
Pope. Every one of his words seemed addressed 
to a particular person, and, as the Latin sentences 
fell upon the ear, one could feel that they were 
spoken rather than pronounced. The Pater 
noster was recited with almost passionate accents, 
passionate, at least, for such an unemotional 
personage as Leo XIII. ; its syllables contained a 
wail of anguish, and the ' Forgive us our tres- 
passes ' rang as a cry for indulgence for the sins 
of the whole world. 

When mass was over, the Pope disappeared 
again, and his chaplain at once ascended the altar, 
and celebrated another one, after which a master of 
ceremonies came forward, and introduced us into 
the very same small chapel where it had taken 

301 



MY RECOLLECTIONS 

place, in a corner of which the pontiff was sitting 
in a large chair, with his scarlet cloak again thrown 
•upon his shoulders. 

We approached and knelt beside him, and he 
Isegan talking very softly, asking us about the 
position of the Catholic Church in Russia. 

Just prior to our departure, a painful incident 
had occurred in connection with the closing of a 
church in the government of Wihia, and the 
Catholic Bishop of St. Petersburg had asked my 
husband to mention the matter to the Holy 
Father. 1 at once saw that the subject was 
unwelcome to him ; the Court of Rome was at 
that very time engaged in negotiations with the 
Russian Government about the establishment of 
:a modus vivendi, which was concluded a few 
months later, and it was very evident that the 
Pope did not care to be told facts which might 
have obliged him to interfere when he did not 
desire to do so. All the diplomacy, which was 
one of his principal characteristics, appeared at that 
moment ; he hastened to change the conversation, 
saying in French, in which language the whole of 
the conversation we had with him was conducted, 
* What can I do ? I am a poor old man, helpless 
and friendless ; I can only pray,' and then, after a 
pause, he went on : ' Pray,' he said, ' pray always, 
continually, never leave off praying, and have 
faith. Faith is ever5rthing. Faith is the strength 
of the world.' ^ La Joi cest tout, la foi cest la 
force du monde' I repeat the words as they were 
told to us, and they sounded both as a warning 

302 



CARDINAL RAMPOLLA 

and as an appeal. My husband was deeply im- 
pressed ; it was also my case, but in a different 
way, and I could not divest myself of the idea 
that there was a ring of unrealness in what we 
had heard. I do not think Pius IX. would have 
spoken thus. 

Among the cardinals whose acquaintance we 
made in Rome, Cardinal Ledochowski, whose 
name has already been mentioned in these pages, 
was without doubt the most remarkable person- 
ality. One might or might not agree with his 
opinions, and the political ideas and system which 
he represented, but one had, whether one liked it 
or not, to admire his immense intelligence, and the 
unflinching courage with which he held his own 
among the innumerable intrigues of the Papal 
Court. Though a diplomat by nature, he would 
never have lowered himself to diplomatic tricks, 
nor sacrificed any of his principles for a temporary 
advantage. He was not liked among the Pope's 
entourage, and did not dissimulate his own 
antagonism to certain measures adopted by Leo 
XIII. With Cardinal RampoUa he was hardly 
on speaking terms. 

This last-mentioned personage was the type 
of the crafty Italian, gifted with more astuteness 
than intelligence, but a past-master in the art of 
intrigue. His very politeness made one distrustful 
as to his intentions. He was known already at 
that time as an aspirant to the pontifical tiara, and 
many people thought that his chances of being 
elected successor to Leo XIII. were considerable. 

303 



MY RECOLLECTIONS 

Another Roman dignitary, this one in a state 
of quasi disgrace, was Cardinal Hohenlohe, the 
brother of the Chancellor of the Empire. He 
had his quarters at Santa Maria Maggiore, and 
was spending his time in denunciations of the 
Jesuits, whose hand he saw in everything which 
happened either to him or to the world. He had 
been considered one of the tools of Prince 
Bismarck, and it is probable he made himself 
useful to the great Minister, but I do not think 
he ever played the important part in political 
affairs which was at one time attributed to him. 

We spent three delightful weeks in Rome, 
then, after a short stay in Naples and at Florence, 
we went to London by way of Paris, 

We found England quite excited about the 
Home Rule Bill, and Mr. Gladstone was held in 
execration by the Conservative party. In spite 
of the effervescence which reigned, society con- 
trived to amuse itself as much as ever. The heir 
to the Russian throne was on a visit to Queen 
Victoria at Windsor, together with his fiancee, 
the Princess Ahx of Hesse. Their engagement 
had just been announced, and in view of the 
Emperor's state of health, about which every day 
more and more disquieting rumours were afloat, 
it had been hailed with the utmost delight by 
the nation, who hoped to see the succession to 
the throne assured in the direct line. That hope 
has still to be fulfilled. 

It was a delightful summer we spent in part 
in London, and in part in Kent, where we had 

304 



THE DYING CZAR 

taken a house. Some charming visits we made 
added to our enjoyment, and among those I 
remember with the greatest pleasure was a stay 
at Waddesdon Manor, where Baron Ferdinand de 
Rothschild used to dispense such charming hos- 
pitaUty. I also had the opportunity of taking my 
daughter to Hatfield House, and I was very 
glad that, during the few days we stayed there, 
she saw something of the home life which made 
that place so attractive, apart from all its other 
charms. 

I was in Scotland when late in September I 
heard that the state of health of Alexander HI. 
had become quite hopeless. The news got worse 
and worse as time went on, and during a short 
stay we made in Paris in October, I received 
letters from Livadia, where the dying monarch 
was going through his last struggle, which in- 
formed me that his life was only a question of 
a few days. We made immediate preparations 
to return to Russia, but before we could reach 
it, we heard in Berlin that all was over, and that 
the Emperor had breathed his last on November 
1st, 1894. 

It was an immense loss to the country over 
which he had ruled so wisely, and for such a short 
time. With him an important factor in European 
politics disappeared, and Russia lost a good deal 
of the prestige she had undoubtedly obtained 
whilst he was presiding over her destinies. 
Thoroughly conscientious, honest, good, in the 
full sense of the term, he had known how to 

a06 X 



MY RECOLLECTIONS 

ally necessary firmness with kindness, and far 
more generosity and large-mindedness than the 
world had ever given him credit for. He left to 
his son a country peaceful in appearance as well 
as in reality, and the sorrow with which his early 
demise was received throughout the Empire, 
whose welfare had been his first care, was 
sincere and unaffected. With him a great force 
had disappeared, and with him a whole political 
system was buried. His successor was an unknown 
quantity, about whose tastes and opinions no one, 
even those who had approached him most inti- 
mately, knew anything. With Alexander III.'s 
death it was felt in Russia that the Empire was 
once more plunging into the unknown. 



306 



CHAPTER XIX. 

The Emperor's Funeral — I see the Empress Frederick in Berlin 
— Her Appreciation of Events hi Russia, and her Opinion 
of its future Empress's Character — Nicholas //.'* Marriage 
— Impression produced in St. Petersburg hy his Consort 
— Address of the Zemstwo of Twer — Death of General 
Tcherezoine. 

The Emperor Alexander III. breathed his last 
at Livadia in the Crimea, from whence his body 
was brought back to St. Petersburg. Princess 
Alix of Hesse, the future wife of the heir to the 
throne, had arrived there a few days previous to 
the monarch's death. She had travelled very quietly 
and unostentatiously, being met at the Central 
Railway station in Berlin by the Emperor William 
himself, who thought it policy to wish God- speed 
to the cousin about to receive an Imperial crown. 
The Empress Frederick, who at that time was also 
in the German capital, did not, so far as I can 
remember, see her niece, who proceeded in all 
haste to the Crimea. She was present at the 
last moments of the sovereign, whose son she was 
about to wed, and a few days after he had passed 
away, she was received into the Greek Church, 
under the name of Alexandra Feodorowna. 

The much-loved and much-lamented Emperor's 
mortal remains were taken back to the capital 
with great pomp, and for something like a week 

307 



MY RECOLLECTIONS 

the mournful procession wended its way through 
the whole of the Russian Empire, met everywhere 
by a sympathetic crowd. The body lay in State 
in Moscow for twenty-four hours, and then reached 
St. Petersburg, where it remained exposed in 
the fortress for over a week previous to its 
interment. 

We were in Berlin as I have already said, at 
the time of the Emperor's death. About two or 
three days after it had taken place, I saw the 
Empress Frederick, and, of course, the event was 
discussed between us. At that time people had a 
very high opinion of Princess Alix of Hesse, and 
the most flattering reports were afloat concerning 
her. When I mentioned them to the Empress, 
and said how much one rejoiced in Russia at the 
idea of being ruled by an Empress imbued with all 
the liberal opinions inseparable from an English 
education, I was very much surprised to find 
that she did not agree at all with me. She did 
not say much, of course, but simply remarked 
that it was not quite safe to trust to what was 
said by people ignorant of the true character of 
those they praised or blamed, according to the 
exigencies of the moment. She added that 
Princess Alix had a very haughty disposition, and 
would be much more inclined than one supposed 
to take au serieuoc her position of absolute sove- 
reign. She also made an allusion to the despotic 
temperament and the self-opinionated tendencies of 
her niece : ' She is far too much convinced of her 
own perfection,' said the Empress, ' and she will 

308 



LYING IN STATE 

never listen to other people's advice ; besides, she 
has no tact, and perhaps, without knowing it, will 
manage to wound the feelings of the persons she 
ought to try and conciliate.' And when I remarked 
how strange it was that a daughter of the Princess 
Alice, and a grand-daughter of the Queen, could 
have such a disposition, the Empress sadly smiled, 
and simply remarked : * Oh ! but when do you see 
daughters taking after their mothers ? ' then after 
a short pause she added, ' It would not be 
possible for any one to be like my sister.' 

We returned to St. Petersburg a few days 
before the funeral of Alexander III. In spite of 
the abominable weather, I went to one of the 
services which were celebrated twice a day at 
the Cathedral of St. Peter and St. Paul in the 
fortress, where the Emperor's body lay in State. 
It had been embalmed, of course, but never- 
theless the features were so much altered it would 
have been impossible to recognise them, had one 
not known who it was. The Dowager Empress, 
smothered in crape, appeared regularly at these 
services, and it was a painful sight to see her, 
bowed down with grief, beside the bier of the 
husband she had loved so fondly. 

As soon as Alexander III. was buried, the 
question of his successor's marriage cropped up. 
At first no one knew whether it would be post 
poned for a year, in order to be celebrated with 
all the pomp attendant on the nuptials of a 
sovereign, or whether it would take place quite 
privately at once. After much deliberation and 

309 



MY RECOLLECTIONS 

discussion, the advice of the Prince of Wales 
prevailed, and it was finally settled that the 
wedding was to take place immediately, but not 
to be followed by festivities of any kind. 

The 14th of November was the day chosen for 
the ceremony. It was the birthday of the Empress 
Marie Feodorowna, and it was thought that it would 
prove a lucky one for all the parties concerned. 
Needless to say that intense interest and curiosity 
were attached to the event. It was the first time in 
the annals of Russian history since Peter the Great 
that a sovereign was about to be wedded, and^ 
naturally, the event was eagerly looked forward 
to. We assembled at the Winter Palace at about 
ten o'clock in the morning of that 14th of Nov- 
ember, and I took this opportunity to bring 
with me my second daughter, who had not yet 
been introduced into society, but whom I wished 
to see something of the Russian Court, at which 
she was not destined to live, as her marriage with 
Prince Blucher von Wahlstadt was already a settled 
thing. I was sorry she would not have the chance 
to go through a St. Petersburg season, or to become 
personally acquainted with our sovereigns. It could 
not be helped, however, and the only glimpse she 
got of Court life at home was the Emperor's 
marriage. 

As I have said, we got early to the palace, 
and though we had to wait there a long time 
it was most interesting owing to the quantity of 
different people whom the occasion had drawn 
together. There were representatives from every 

310 



MARRIAGE OF NICHOLAS II. 

part of Russia, as well as from all the different 
Courts of Europe. Great things being expected 
from the young lady about to become Empress 
her appearance was eagerly watched for. She had 
arrived, preceded by a great reputation for clever- 
ness, and had she understood the Russian people 
better she could have become very popular. It 
was about half-past eleven when at last the doors 
of the private apartments of the Emperor were 
thrown open and the cortege appeared. Preceded 
by the usual train of Chamberlains and other 
Court officials, the young Emperor appeared 
leading his bride by the hand. She looked abso- 
lutely lovely : her tall, elegant figure would have 
attracted attention in any circumstances ; but on 
that day it appeared to greater advantage than I 
have ever seen it. She wore upon her head the 
diamond crown in which all the Russian Grand 
Duchesses are wedded, and a long mantle of 
cloth of gold lined with ermine on her shoulders ; 
her train was carried by six high dignitaries 
of the Imperial household. Her cheeks were 
slightly tinted with red, the result of her evident 
emotion, and her whole appearance was splendid. 
A smothered cry of enthusiasm greeted her, and 
one heard everywhere the exclamation, ' How 
lovely she is ! ' 

Behind her and the Emperor walked the 
Dowager Empress, leaning on the arm of her 
father, the King of Denmark. Marie Feodorowna 
was dressed in white from head to foot, with a 
magnificent pearl necklace round her throat, but 

311 



MY RECOLLECTIONS 

no other jewels. Her white drawn face and pinched 
lips revealed the struggle she was undergoing, but 
she walked with a firm step, though making, it was 
but too evident, a violent effort to restrain her 
tears. She did not once break down during the 
long ceremony, and went through that trying day 
with a firm courage, which I am sadly afraid was 
not sufficiently admired or appreciated at the time. 

The wedding ceremony over, the newly-married 
sovereigns proceeded to the Kazan Cathedral, and 
afterwards to the Anitchkoff Palace, where, wel- 
comed by the Dowager Empress, they took up 
their abode with her until their own apartments 
in the Winter Palace were ready to receive them. 

An episode that was very much commented 
upon in connection with the Emperor's marriage 
was, that when he passed in front of the Roman 
Catholic Church on the Newski Prospect, on his 
way home with his bride, the Catholic Archbishop, 
in full ecclesiastical vestments, awaited him on the 
threshold with the cross and holy water. He 
delivered an address, to which Nicholas II. made 
a suitable reply, and this manifestation of the head 
of the Roman communion in Russia was inter- 
preted in the sense of a possible reconciliation of 
the Polish party with the new sovereign. 

It was during that first winter which followed 
the accession of the Emperor Nicholas II., that the 
famous incident of the address presented by the 
Zemstwo, or local assembly of Twer, took place. 
This assembly had always been credited with liberal 
ideas, and in its words of greeting to the new sove- 

312 



THE NEW REIGN 

reign, it expressed the hope that the government of 
Russia would at last be conducted more according 
to Occidental ideas. The address had nothing 
disrespectful in it ; it proceeded from people whose 
loyalty and devotion to the throne were un- 
impeachable, and who were far above any intention 
to offend. Yet it was received by the young Czar 
with an anger that nothing has ever explained, and 
which found its way in a most singular manner. 
When, a few days later, deputations of the different 
provinces were solemnly received by him and the 
Empress, in order to offer some wedding presents 
to Alexandra Feodorowna, the Emperor suddenly 
made a speech, in which he absolutely threatened 
with unheard-of penalties his subjects, in case they 
allowed themselves to indulge in any hopes of a 
liberal government. He even went so far as to 
shake his fist at his unfortunate auditors, who were 
at a loss to understand what they had done to 
deserve this explosion of wrath, which was, to say 
the least of it, singular, coming as it did from a 
man to whom they had just presented costly gifts. 
A few days later, a letter from the Nihilist Execu- 
tive Committee was received by him, in which an 
eloquent answer was given to his hasty and im- 
prudent words. 

In November of that same year 1894, the 
Empress gave birth to her first child, a girl, and 
the disappointment produced by the sex of the 
infant added to her unpopularity. A few balls 
took place at the Winter Palace, but the gaiety 
and animation which had made the Russian Court 

313 



MY RECOLLECTIONS 

famous in the days of Alexander III. had dis- 
appeared. The graceful, gentle form of Marie 
Feodorowna no longer presided over these 
festivities, and with her had disappeared their 
principal charm. Invitations even were no longer 
sought after, and a certain portion of society began 
to exhibit a studied indifference for the Imperial 
pair, which in such a short time had contrived to 
make itself so unpopular. A strong party sup- 
ported the Dowager Empress, and as her political 
influence was certainly stronger than that of her 
daughter-in-law, she soon became a power far 
greater than she had ever been in the lifetime of 
her husband. 

It was in February of 1896 that General 
Tcherewine died. With him disappeared one of 
the foremost statesmen in Russia, and certainly 
the man who had been the most powerful one in 
that country for thirteen years. His position as 
Head of the Secret Police of the Empire, and as 
personal friend of Alexander III., had made him 
a formidable individual. And yet I doubt if he 
had a single enemy. Just, conscientious, kind, 
noble in mind as well as in character, he left a 
stainless reputation, and was regretted by all who 
had approached him, To the Emperor, and 
especially to the Empress Marie Feodorowna, his 
loss was irreparable. He had been the trusted 
adviser of the Imperial family, not only on 
political matters, but also in their private Hfe, and 
his admirable tact had contrived to keep from the 
public more than one incident which would not 

314 



ILLNESS OF THE EMPRESS FREDERICK 

have resounded to the credit of the reigning 
dynasty. He was a true gentleman, a perfect 
friend, one whom it was an honour to know and a 
privilege to see. For me his death, which put an 
end to an intimacy of many years, was a blow 
from which I have not recovered to this day. 
Apart from the sense of personal loss, I found 
myself deprived of the greatest interest I had 
had in my life, that of being behind the scenes 
of the political history of my country. All 
my interest in existence disappeared with that 
faithful and devoted friend, to whom I owed so 
much. 

A few weeks after his death, desirous of 
escaping for some time from the gossip of St. 
Petersburg, I went to the Italian Lakes to spend 
a few days there, previous to encountering the 
fatigues of the forthcoming coronation, at which 
my daughters desired to be present. 

On my way to Pallanza, I saw at Frankfurt 
the Empress Frederick, and noticed for the first 
time on this occasion a change in her personal 
appearance. It was not so much that she had 
grown older, but there was a settled look of pain 
on her face, such as is only seen in cases of acute 
physical suffering. But she did not complain, and 
to my questions about her health, she replied that 
she felt much as usual, and as well as she could 
ever expect to be. The tone in which these words 
were said, did not strike me at the time as being 
ominous, but I have often thought of them since. 
They seemed to herald a danger of which I did 

315 



MY RECOLLECTIONS 

not, of course, suspect the magnitude, but which 
I felt vaguely to be existing. Little did I guess 
that the Empress was already doomed, and that 
the days which were left to her to spend upon 
earth were destined to be made hideous by 
suffering such as, fortunately, very few have to 
andure. 



316 



CHAPTER XX. 

Another Coroimtion — The Consolidation of the French Alii at ice 
— Nicholas II.''s Journey to Paris — Prince Bismarck''s 
Death — / spend a Winter on the Riviera — My last Inter- 
view with the Empress Frederick — The Beginning of 
the End. 

It was with very different feelings from those I 
had in 1883 that I started for Moscow, to attend 
the coronation of Nicholas II. To tell the truth, I 
do not think any one felt particularly elated about 
it. Trade was drooping, agriculture had just gone 
through years of hard losses, and what with the 
scarcity of money, and with discontent at the 
prevaiUng order of things, the approaching fes- 
tivities were viewed with more apprehension than 
anything else, and certainly without the slightest 
enthusiasm. When we reached Moscow, we found 
people were more occupied with the scanty and 
uncomfortable accommodation the town offered, 
than with the doings of the sovereigns about to 
receive the crown of their ancestors. There were 
no private entertainments, such as made the coro- 
nation of the late Emperor so brilliant; and 
public energy seemed to concentrate itself upon 
the two Court balls which were announced, as 
well as upon that of the French Embassy, which 
was widely commented upon, on account of 
JNIadame de Montebello's popularity in society. 

317 



MY RECOLLECTIONS 

I went with my daughters to view the 
€ntry of the Emperor and Empress into Moscow 
from the house of some friends of ours, opposite 
the residence of the Governor- General, from 
whence we had watched that of Alexander III. 
^nd his consort thirteen years before. It took 
place with just the same amount of pomp and 
splendour, but lacked the enthusiasm which had 
been so remarkable on the former occasion. 

The Emperor, when he appeared mounted on 
his white charger, was hardly cheered, except by 
the troops who lined the road. As for the Em- 
press she was received with a dead silence, which 
she must have felt, in spite of the indifference 
with which she was credited. The only person 
who was received with enthusiasm was the Dow- 
ager Empress. When the gold carriage in which 
she was seated appeared, a burst of acclamation 
escaped the crowd, hitherto silent and undemon- 
strative, and the shouts with which she was 
^welcomed were almost deafening. She looked 
very pale, but perfectly self-possessed, and though 
the occasion could not have been anything else but 
painful to her, she bowed with her usual good 
^race to the crowd, and appeared so youthful 
that one could easily have believed that she was 
about to be crowned, instead of the stern-looking 
woman whose carriage followed her own, and who 
stared at the sea of faces with which she was sur- 
rounded with an expression which had something 
of disdain, and something of distrust in it. 

The same evening or the next, I do not remember 
318 



COUNT MOURAWIEFF 

exactly, Prince LobanofF, Minister for Foreign 
Affairs, gave an evening party, at which I met 
after some years a friend of mine. Count Mourawieff, 
then Russian Minister at Copenhagen, who, in 
the days of Prince Orloff and Count Schouwaloff, 
had been councillor of the Russian Embassy in 
Berlin, and to whom I was linked by feelings of 
friendship which lasted until his death. 

Count Mourawieff, who was a few months later 
to be in his turn appointed to the responsible 
post of Minister for Foreign Affairs, was certainly 
one of the cleverest diplomats the Russian service 
has ever known. His personality has been very 
much discussed, as is generally the case with every 
clever man : he has been accused in turn of am- 
bition and unscrupulousness, has been hated as 
well as feared by his superiors and his subordinates, 
but few people have managed better than he to 
get along in the world, and to avoid every kind 
of danger and pitfall. At the time I am speaking 
of, he was in the bad books of Prince Lobanoff, 
and, as he admitted to me, profoundly discouraged 
at the obstacles that were being jput into his way. 
We had been the closest of friends for many 
years, and I shall always remember with gratitude 
that at a time of crisis in my life, I owe it to 
Count Mourawieff that I was able to escape from 
a very serious danger, and to come out victori- 
ously from a very perilous position. We had, 
at the time I met him in Moscow, not seen each 
other for something like two years, and I am glad 
to say that I found it in my power to give to 

819 



MY RECOLLECTIONS 

Count MourawiefF a certain amount of courage 
and nerve which ultimately made him get over 
the despondency under which he was suffering, 
I always prophesied to him that he would one day 
rise to a high position in the State, but he did 
not seem to believe me, and complained that his 
immediate chiefs placed so many obstacles in his 
way, that he was afraid he would have to retire 
altogether from the service. I advised him, before 
doing so, to try and get an audience with the 
Dowager Empress, of whom he had always been 
a favourite, and to explain to her his situation, 
asking her at the same time for her protection. 
At first Count JNIourawieff did not take well to 
my advice, but finally he followed it, and the day 
before his departure from Moscow, which took 
place before the end of the coronation festivities, 
he came to see me, and told me that he had acted 
on my suggestion, and seen the Empress. Later 
on, in the course of the next few months, he had 
the opportunity, during the annual visit of Marie 
Feodorowna at Copenhagen, to have some serious 
conversations with her, with the result that after 
the death of Prince Lobanoff, he was, upon her 
recommendation, appointed in his place. 

The coronation followed the precedent set by 
that of the Emperor Alexander II. There was only 
one difference, and that is, that whereas the late 
Emperor had never appeared to greater advantage 
than when he came out of the Cathedral with the 
crown upon his head, and the folds of the Imperial 
mantle falling from his shoulders, his son was 

320 



THE WIDOWED CZARINA 

dragged down by these emblems of his power, and 
seemed to be unable to bear the weight of the 
Imperial ensigns, and to totter under them. When 
he reached the Church of the Ascension he fainted 
away, and certainly did not impress the crowd 
either with his presence or his personality. 

The Empress looked more cold and disdainful 
than ever; the crown did not suit her, and the way 
in which her hair was dressed added to the hardness 
of her features and the disagreeable expression of her 
mouth. She was, as upon the day of her entry in 
the ancient capital of the Empire, greeted with 
almost absolute silence. 

Marie Feodorowna, when she made her appear- 
ance on the top of the red staircase, where I had 
seen her standing on the day of her own corona- 
tion, looked younger and more graceful than she 
had even done on that memorable occasion. She 
was exquisitely dressed in white, with her Imperial 
mantle very well adjusted this time on the bodice 
of her dress, just showing the outline of her lovely 
shoulders. Her hair, piled high up on the top of 
her head, was surmounted with the small diamond 
crown that had ornamented it once before, which 
suited admirably her delicate features. It was 
impossible not to be struck with the exquisite 
grace with which she bowed to the crowd, who 
cheered her most enthusiastically, and it contrasted 
singularly with the salutation of her daughter- 
in-law, when she, too, turned and bowed to the 
people assembled in the vast courtyard of the 
Kremlin. 

321 Y 



MY RECOLLECTIONS 

Except for her apparition on the day of the 
coronation, the Dowager Empress did not take part 
in any of the festivities, and the only time she was 
heard of, was when, after the terrible catastrophe 
which marred the day of the popular festival, she 
at once hastened to the different hospitals to re- 
lieve, by her charity and gentleness, the suffei'ings 
of the victims of this awful calamity. 

It is needless here to give the details of the 
misfortune which threw a veil of sadness over 
the coronation, and reminded people of the 
horrors that had attended the nuptials of Louis 
XVI. and his consort, the ill-fated Queen Marie 
Antoinette. How the catastrophe happened, and 
who was responsible for it, remains to this day a 
mystery. The fact was that, either through care- 
lessness, or through neglect, about five thousand 
persons were crushed to death before even the 
festivity began. 

The same day, a much-talked-of ball took place 
at the French Embassy, and the Imperial family 
attended it in full, without giving the slightest 
attention to the catastrophe which had taken 
place a few hours before. An Englishman who 
was present at that entertainment — over which a 
deep gloom presided, in spite of its splendour — 
remarked to me that the first care of Queen 
Victoria, after the going down of the Ficto7ia, 
had been to 'Countermand the Court ball which 
was announced for that very night — and, he added, 
*the event did not take place in England.' 

The callousness shown by Nicholas II. and 
322 



THE FRENCH ALLIANCE 

Alexandra Feodorowna in this sad circumstance, 
added more than was needed to their unpopularity. 
As I have related already, the conduct of the 
Dowager Empress, and the tender care she took 
of the survivors of the disaster, produced upon 
the nation an impression which, I believe, will 
never be effaced. Those who had loved her before, 
began to worship her, and though she had long 
ago made for herself a special place in the hearts 
of the Russian people, she has been looked upon 
since that sad day as their guardian angel, whose 
presence alone was sufficient to preserve them 
from any calamity. 

The conduct of the French Ambassador was 
also viewed in an unfavourable light. The public 
were of opinion that he himself ought to have 
asked for permission to postpone his ball. In 
a certain sense the rebuke was deserved ; but it 
must also be understood, on the other hand, 
that he could hardly take upon himself the 
responsibility of giving a lesson to the Emperor 
of All the Russias. 

At that time the French Alliance was at its 
* apogee.' Prepared during the last months of 
Alexander III.'s life, it was brought to a satis- 
factory conclusion by his successor, whose memor- 
able visit to Paris is still fresh in people's minds. 
1 cannot say that it was viewed with feelings of 
unmixed satisfaction in Russian society. Though 
anti-German feeling was running very high, and 
had done so for the last few years, yet the aristo- 
cratic sentiments of the upper classes in St. Peters- 

323 



MY RECOLLECTIONS 

burg received a terrible shock when they had to 
submit to the ' Marseillaise ' being played in the 
presence of their sovereign, and to see him 
become the guest of a little bourgeois like Felix 
Faure. Though enthusiasm was excited, it was 
not universal, and even those who professed 
themselves most enchanted with the manifestations 
of approval which took place in both countries, 
looked with a certain degree of apprehension upon 
this intimacy of the modern French Republic with 
the old Russian monarchy of bygone times. 

In the course of the summer of 1898 Prince 
Bismarck died at Friedrichsruhe, full of life and 
honours, but discontented with his lot, and not 
having been able to give up the role of sulky ad- 
versary of the Emperor William II. which he had 
adopted since that young and impetuous monarch 
had dismissed him. He was, with the Empress 
Frederick, the last survivor of an epoch which 
has already passed into the domain of history, and 
which I feel proud of having known. No one is 
now left of all the men who helped to build up 
that German Empire which holds the first place 
among the nations of Europe. They are all 
gone, they have all of them disappeared, and 
with Prince Bismarck died the last of the veterans, 
who, in a few short years, achieved so much 
with so little. Had he been removed from the 
scene of European politics ten years earlier, it 
would have been a world-shaking event. As it 
was, he had the melancholy satisfaction of seeing 
that he was not indispensable, and that his dismissal 

324 



BISMARCK'S LAST DAYS 

did not affect the welfare of the Empire he had 
created. 

This feehng was gall and wormwood to him, 
and it is a great pity he could not reconcile himself 
to the inevitable, and content himself with a 
silence which by its dignity would have made him 
a far more redoubtable foe to his ungrateful pupil, 
than he succeeded in being by filling the news- 
papers with his lamentations and recriminations. 
All the defects of this character, as small-minded in 
some things as it was great in others, were accen- 
tuated by the peculiar circumstances that attended 
his rupture with the sovereign who had, in spite of 
his wonderful genius, succeeded in making him his 
dupe. Though he had never believed in the grati- 
tude of the world, yet he was wounded to the 
quick by the defection of all those whom he had 
befriended, and on whose fidelity he had the 
right to reckon. Disgust, bitter and intense, 
filled his impetuous soul ; for long years he had 
never found an obstacle in his path, and he had 
grown accustomed to be considered as the foremost 
personage in Europe, on the smallest word of 
whom it was dependent. All at once he found 
himself relegated to the position of a private 
individual whose opinions and actions are of no 
importance whatever, and it was a humiliation 
he was not great enough to bear with equa- 
nimity, and to meet with the dignity of silence. 

Great honours were paid to his memory, all 
Germany mourned him, and yet his funeral was 
more like the translation of the ashes of an illus- 

325 



MY RECOLLECTIONS 

trious dead from one place to another, than hke 
the burial of a man who had recently been alive 
and filling his place under the sun. It was the 
founder of the German Empire that was carried 
to his grave on that fine summer day under the 
shadow of his old oaks ; it was not the man who, 
a few days before, had been walking in those very- 
alleys through which his coffin was now escorted 
to its last home. 

In September, 1898, I went as usual to spend 
a few weeks on the Riviera ; whilst there I became 
very ill, and have never regained my former health 
after the shock which it received at the time. I 
could not come back to Russia, and settled at 
Beaulieu, near Nice, where I spent some months, 
in a condition which at times kept me for days 
confined to my couch. As the spring came on, 
however, I got gradually better, and at last felt 
well enough to be able to go about a little, though 
still compelled to observe great precautions. 

In April, the Empress Frederick, whose health 
was openly admitted to be failing, came to Bor- 
dighera, at about the same time that Queen 
Victoria arrived at Cimiez. I went to see her at 
the Hotel Angst, where she occupied a suite of 
rooms, and was shocked beyond expression at the 
change I noticed in her appearance. Her eyes 
were quite sunken, and her complexion had as- 
sumed a grey hue ; she seemed also weaker^ 
and her manner had contracted a kind of weari- 
ness which I had never observed before, not 
even after her husband's death. She refused,. 

326 



DEATH OF EMPRESS FREDERICK 

however, to admit that she was ill, though she 
owned she felt shaken owing to a fall from her 
horse she had sustained a few months before. 
But she expressed the hope that the lovely cU- 
mate of the coast of the Mediterranean would 
soon restore her to her previous activity. Of 
course, I did not like to say anything, but I felt 
very anxious, and was convinced that her ailments 
were more than she liked to own. I did not 
suspect that she was already attacked by the ter- 
rible disease which was to carry her off, after such 
awful sufferings, and still less did I guess that 
she was aware of it, and resigned to the atrocious 
fate that was staring her in the face. 

The Empress died with her ' boy's' — as she 
used to call him when he was a lad — hand clasped 
in hers. She blessed him and she forgave him, as 
mothers only can forgive, and so she passed away 
from the world she had adorned, from the friends 
she had loved, from the family to whom she had 
been devoted, from the poor she had helped, from 
all those who had been the richer for her kindness. 

Her memory will live for ever in the hearts 
of those who have approached her, and to whom 
she has left a great example, and given a great 
lesson, by the firm courage with which she faced 
the sorrows and trials of her life, and the tortures 
of her long illness and death. She died, as I 
wrote after the terrible news that she was no 
more had reached me, a Queen, brave to the end. 
Often have I thought of her, and remembered the 
different occasions upon which I had seen her, in 

327 



MY RECOLLECTIONS 

public as well as in private life. I try sometimes 
to picture her to myself in the splendour of her 
Court array, or in the simple gowns she wore at 
home, when she was surrounded by her children 
and family ; but, somehow, I seem always to see 
her as she appeared to me for the last time, 
standing in the middle of that hotel room at 
Bordighera, with violets in a big bowl on a table 
beside her, a slight small figure in deep mourning, 
with that far-away look upon her face, which only 
appears when one stands on the opening of that 
period of life, which is the beginning of the end. 



328 



CHAPTER XXI. 

'Cecil Rhodes — A?i Appreciation — Cecil Rhodes' Character — 
A Man of Moods — His Colossal Ambition — His Satellites 
— Personal Relations — His Last Hours — His Inner 
Thoughts — His Conduct chiring the War. 

When I began this book I wished to end it with 
the death of the Empress Frederick, and leave 
for a later time the account of the events which 
led to my departure for South Africa, and the 
acquaintance with Cecil Rhodes, which was to 
prove so fatal to me. I am asked, however, to 
write here an appreciation of his character and 
personality, and though I feel I am the last 
person who ought to do it, yet I cannot refuse 
to comply with this request, because, in spite of 
all the harm that he has done me, it is impos- 
sible for me to mention his name with anything 
but admiration for the great talents as well as 
the magnificent qualities which made him such 
an exceptional creature, and I would like to give 
him, or rather his memory, a last proof of affection 
by showing him as he really was, with all his 
faults and all his good points, a man of extra- 
ordinary talents who, under different circum- 
stances, might have risen to those heights where, 
according to the Russian poet's words, ' one gets 
so near to God, that one begins to understand 
Him.' 

When, after all that I have endured and 
suffered, I think of him, and remember all he 

329 



MY RECOLLECTIONS 

did, the generous instincts that really existed in 
him, I seem to forget these sufferings, and my 
resentment melts away, leaving only room for 
passionate regret. He deserved a better fate than 
he got, and he ought not to have had such an 
unutterably sad and lonely deathbed, one from 
whence the two great things which sanctify those 
of humbler people — the Church's blessing, and a 
woman's love — were alike absent. He deserved, 
above all, to have had better friends. His career 
had begun by being too lucky ; success smiled 
upon him too soon, and too persistently, until at 
last he grew to believe not so much in himself as 
in his power to do always what he wanted, no 
matter what that might be. His marvellous gifts 
did not prevent him from feeling the demoralising 
effects of the South African climate, and of South 
African life, which had their usual influence over 
him, as well as they have had over other people. 
The true appreciation of right and wrong vanished 
in him ; he was never trained in that rude school 
of adversity and disappointment, which alone 
brings out all that is best in human nature. 
Had his political career begun in England, 
where a man has, whether he likes it or not» 
to bear a certain number of rebuffs, and to learn 
to submit to contradiction, he would have had 
a far greater chance to remain until the end of 
his life, the powerful man he had been at one 
time. In South Africa, surrounded as he was by 
the set of unscrupulous people who, since the 
Raid, were the only ones who cared to approach 

330 



CECIL RHODES' CHARACTER 

him, it is no wonder that he lost all moral control, 
and could only think of thrusting aside those who- 
attempted to resist his will, or even not to agree 
with all he said, thought, or did. 

During the long dreary months, when I had 
nothing else to do but to brood over the past, I 
have often tried to form a just appreciation of the 
character of Mr. Rhodes. I do not know whether 
I have succeeded, so I will not pretend to say 
that it is a true one, but it seems to me, from 
all I know, that he has been far too much hated, 
and too much loved at the same time. It is 
certain that all he did was calculated to produce 
one of these two effects, and those who only knew 
him superficially, can be excused if they judged 
him according to the mood in which they found 
him, for few men have been possessed to the same 
degree of the power he had to make himself 
lovable or hateful according to what he wished. 

He was above everything a man of strong 
passions, unrelenting in his vengeances, and sus- 
ceptible to a point which was almost childish to 
the opinion of others. Though he affected 
profound indifference towards the judgments of 
the press, yet he took a kind of morbid delight in 
reading all that was said about him, and in study- 
ing every word that was written of his doings and 
undertakings, and no one knew better than he did, 
the use to which journalism can be put. There 
was in him a latent vanity, which sometimes 
amused me very much. AVith all its greatness, 
that superior mind had small weaknesses which he 

331 



MY RECOLLECTIONS 

would have been the first to laugh at had he noticed 
them in other people, but which often induced 
those who, without knowing him well, were brought 
into contact with him, to carry away with them a 
false opinion about his personality. His one great 
defect was want of sympathy, and the extreme 
callousness he sometimes displayed, which more 
often than not was only pure affectation. He 
liked to appear different to any one else, as well as 
superior to the weaknesses of ordinary humanity ; 
he also liked to give a false opinion of himself. 
1 remember an anecdote which will explain what I 
mean by saying this. 

One day some tourists of importance were 
visiting Groote Schuur, where they had been enter- 
tained by Mr. Rhodes ; he took them himself over 
the house and grounds, and at last showed them one 
of Lobengula's sons, whom he employed as a work- 
man on his estate. This led to a talk about the 
Matabele rebellion, and the visitor asked Mr. Rhodes 
in what year it had taken place. The Colossus 
thought for a moment, then calling to him the 
young native : ' Look here,' he said, ' what year 
did I kill your father ? ' This story, which I beheve 
to be perfectly true, is characteristic of that un- 
pleasant side of Mr. Rhodes' character, which has 
caused him to be so intensely hated. It was 
nothing but affectation in this instance, as well as 
in a mass of others, which had induced him to shock 
the feelings of his listeners. He was never sincere 
when he said such outrageous things ; unfortun- 
ately they were believed in, and this disregard of 

332 



A MAN OF MOODS 

public opinion is one of the things which did him 
the most harm. 

Mr. Rhodes was essentially a man of moods 
and impulses, and everything depended on the state 
of his nerves and temper. These had to be 
carefully studied whenever one had to deal with 
him. Sometimes he was all attention and eagerness 
to listen to you, when you had something to tell 
him ; at other moments he met your request for a 
few minutes' conversation with a rudeness which 
absolutely discouraged one from beginning even to 
enter into the subject which one had prepared 
oneself to discuss. At such times it was that he 
used to take advantage of one, and very often his 
rudeness was but a way of cowing down his inter- 
locutors, just as his fits of passion were assumed in 
order to get his own ends, or avoid unpleasant 
discussions. Here again was affectation, but of a 
useful kind, and here again he displayed the 
remarkable shrewdness to which he was indebted 
for most of his successes. 

These were great and even extraordinary. In 
Europe he would not and could not have had 
them. There is no place in our old world for the 
display of the talent which will make Cecil Rhodes' 
name immortal in South Africa. 

In the vast solitudes over which shines the 
Southern Cross, no one questions the way in 
which a man scores his successes ; all that is 
required of him is to succeed. Cecil Rhodes knew 
this better than any one else ; he understood the 
power of money, as well as the hold it gives one 

333 



MY RECOLLECTIONS 

over the world. He understood also that once 
the power was there, no one would inquire into 
the means by which it had been attained. He 
liked above everything to rule ; his love of power 
was immense : had it been less he would not have 
done what he did, he would not hav^e cherished 
the ambition to use his country's greatness as a 
footstool for his personal aims, and the glorification 
of his personal vanities. 

Would a real patriot have entangled his country 
in the Jameson Raid, or have assumed responsi- 
bility for the ruthless crushing of the Matabele 
Rebellion ? Mr. Rhodes did not perform this deed 
himself, but he allowed others to do so. One of his 
principles was to permit his subordinates to execute 
unpleasant tasks which he deemed to be necessary 
to his schemes, whilst reserving to himself the right 
to disavow them if they failed, and to assume the 
merit when successful. In one instance only did he 
boldly accept the consequences of his own mistake, 
and that was the famous Raid, and there circum- 
stances more powerful than his will obliged him 
to do so. But as a general rule his patriotism was 
essentially a selfish one. By nature a real Italian 
Condottieri, such as the fifteenth century has 
produced, he wished above everything to reign, 
to domineer over his contemporaries ; at the same 
time his marvellous, wonderful intelligence, grasped 
at once the fact that the days when kingdoms 
could be created out of nothing were gone for ever, 
and that private individuals could no longer hope 
to win crowns, which like Bonaparte's, would 

334 



HIS COLOSSAL AMBITION 

suddenly make out of them the equals of all the 
old rulers of the world. And yet he wanted a 
kingdom, and he resolved to get it, whilst pre- 
tending to offer it to his country. Rhodesia was 
not conquered for the benefit of England, the 
Kimberley mines were not amalgamated for the 
welfare of their shareholders, De Beers Company 
was not organized in the powerful way it has been 
for the good of those whose earnings and savings 
were invested in it ; all these things were done 
simply in order to make out of Cecil John Rhodes 
the most powerful man in South Africa, and one 
of the most powerful men in the world. That 
he became so there is no doubt, and strange as 
it may seem for me to say it, I think that he 
deserved it. In spite of his utter indifference to 
everything which was not connected with himself, 
the man was yet great, and had in him the 
germs of much that was good, and, moreover, was 
possessed of qualities which were as considerable as 
his faults. There was nothing mean or sordid 
about him ; his wealth he used for the furtherance 
of his schemes, but never for his personal enjoy- 
ment; he was sometimes generous to a fault, he came 
to the help alike of friend or of foe, and often he 
saved people from ruin who were or had been his 
bitter enemies. He put all his energies into the 
development of the country which at last he came 
to consider as his personal property ; he was always 
eager to further any plan which was to the advan- 
tage of the public good ; he worked night and day 
for the prosperity of the vast interests which were 

335 



MY RECOLLECTIONS 

confided to his care. Supremely selfish in one 
sense, he was absolutely unselfish in another, and 
his kindness was most remarkable. In that rude 
nature there was a latent tenderness of which but few 
were aware, and which equalled that of a woman. 
He could talk softly to a child, he would listen 
to any tale of distress that was poured into his ears, 
he liked to do good, to use his riches to make other 
people happy. Many are the tears which he helped to 
dry, numerous are those whom he saved from 
despair, whose misery he relieved. He had re- 
deeming qualities as well as his faults, and above 
everything he was possessed in a most extraordinary 
degree of the gift of fascinating all those with whom 
he came in contact, most of whom grew to love him, 
in spite of all he sometimes did later on to hurt or 
to shock them, and even the friends he lost or 
ruthlessly trampled upon in the course of his 
political career have always kept for him at the 
bottom of their hearts a lurking affection which 
resisted all he did afterwards to destroy it. 

The bane of Mr. Rhodes' life has been that 
he never knew who were his real friends, and that 
instead of listening to those who loved him well 
enough to tell him the truth, even at the risk of 
wounding him, he allowed himself to be influenced 
by a set of individuals who, in order to reap 
certain advantages from their apparent intimacy 
with him, were prepared to stand any amount of 
rudeness, incivility, or even tyranny on his part. 
Mr. Rhodes despised them, but, unfortunately, he 
could not do without them in the last years of his 

336 



HIS SATELLITES 

life. His was the kind of nature which did not 
brook contradiction, absolutely required flattery and 
adulation, and could not exist without a crowd of 
sycophants and courtiers to submit to all his 
caprices, and receive with gratitude all the kicks 
which he found a vicious kind of pleasure in 
administering to them. Though he never would 
own to the fact, he felt deeply the isolation in 
which he found himself left after the Jameson 
Raid, and the social ostracism which was the 
consequence of this act of folly. When he saw 
all the friends of his youth, those to whom he 
owed in part the success of his political career, 
withdraw themselves from him, he suffered as 
much as a strong nature like his could only suffer, 
but he never would admit it. He refused to 
acknowledge that he had been wrong, or to utter 
the words which would have brought these friends 
back to him, and for which some of them waited 
until death overtook him, and destroyed their 
hopes. Had he had less vanity and more pride, 
that pride characterised by a French author as 
*pas de Vorgueil mais de la fierte,* he would have 
found in him the moral courage to go and ask 
them for their forgiveness. They would have 
met him half-way, so deeply did they deplore the 
error into which he had been led. But the words 
were never spoken, the step was never taken, in 
spite of the efforts of all those who wished him. 
well, and who in their affection for him would 
have given much, and sacrificed still more, to 
wipe out the stain with which he had sullied his 

337 z 



MY RECOLLECTIONS 

name; and the Colossus went to his grave with 
the sorrow he never would acknowledge, of having 
lost all that a man holds dear, and having been 
too weak to try and win it back again, by a small 
surrender of what after all was nothing but vanity. 
But Cecil Rhodes' great weakness lay precisely 
in his inabihty to own himself to have been in the 
wrong, as well as his morbid desire to be admired 
in everything he did, thought, or said. At times 
the true instincts which he tried so hard to stifle 
made themselves heard, and then it was, that he 
would give way to those fits of anger or depression, 
during which he so brutally expressed his profound 
contempt for the motley crew which surrounded 
him; but even in those moments he made the 
mistake of putting on the same level those who 
yielded to him, and those who refused to enter 
into his plans or approve of all his deeds, and in 
that contempt he seemed to look for, and find, the 
justification of many an unjustifiable action. He 
did not admit that any one could resist him, and, 
unfortunately, he was led to believe that those who 
did so, had an ulterior object in view, that they 
were his enemies or the tools of his enemies. The 
quarrel I had with him proceeded from no other 
source ; he believed I had betrayed him ; he 
thought, or rather he was led to think, that I had 
wished to use the knowledge I had of certain facts 
to harm him, and he refused to understand that, 
had I been able to betray for him those whose life 
and safety I held in my hands, I could just as well 
have been capable of betraying him. Had Mr. 

338 



PERSONAL RELATIONS 

Rhodes had constantly at his side a good, honest, 
affectionate influence, there is no knowing what he 
might have done, or to what heights he might 
have risen. A strange fatahty put him into the 
power of a few men, who destroyed much that was 
good, generous, and honest in his nature, and in the 
hands of whom he became all too pliable towards 
the end of his life. 

As for his conduct towards myself, I will say, 
■at the risk of being considered affected, that he 
was not so much to blame as may appear at 
first. Whatever some people may think, he had 
trusted me, and he had been led to think I had 
wronged and betrayed him. Had I done so, 
I would indeed have been a vile creature, and 
though this would not have justified what he did, 
nor the accusation he brought against me, yet 
the violence of the man's character excuses him 
in part. He had never spared any one in his life, 
he had always ruthlessly sacrificed all those whom 
he found an obstacle to his plans and ambitions. 
He knew I held his political reputation in my 
hands, and he did not understand that, though I 
would not, and could not, consent to become his 
tool — and ruin those who had trusted me — yet I 
would have died rather than endanger him in any 
way, that my affection for him was too deep to 
make me do anything else but defend him, as well 
as all he did, always, and in every circumstance, 
even when I knew that his actions were absolutely 
indefensible. 

For a long time he had resisted the efforts of 
339 



MY RECOLLECTIONS 

all those who had tried to bring about a rupture 
between us, but circumstances proved too strong 
for him. Perhaps, also, I was to blame. I had 
judged him as an ordinary man, and had not 
understood that instead of appreciating a certain 
line of conduct he would interpret it as a want 
of friendship for himself Then I only saw him 
occasionally; the others were always there, ready 
to make use of every opportunity to bring about 
a quarrel between us. At last he was goaded to 
the last pitch of exasperation, and did what he 
had threatened me he would do — that is, ruin me. 
But he suifered whilst doing so, and had I, the last 
time we met, stooped to implore his pity, I believe 
he would have tried to undo what he had done. 

But I never saw him again, except from a dis- 
tance, sitting at the window of the little cottage in 
which he died, panting for breath, struggling with 
approaching death, and all my heart went out to 
him in his misery and his loneliness ; for indeed 
it was a piteous sight — the master of so many 
millions, the genius, for he was a genius, who had 
controlled so many great events, who had held the 
destinies of empires and nations in his hands, 
ending his days in solitude, with only a few 
servants around him. 

I went home, and wrote to the medical man 
who attended him, and whom I knew well — Dr. 
Stevenson — asking him to tell Rhodes that I 
forgave him, and prayed for him night and 
morning. I do not know whether the message 
ever reached him. 1 suppose it did not ; and yet 

340 



HIS LAST HOURS 

I believe that, had he got it, the poor Colossus 
would have died happier. 

But all this has nothing to do with the 
appreciation of his character, which I am trying 
to make now — a character so complicated that I 
doubt whether any one has really understood it, 
or even whether he understood it himself. Candour 
was never his strong point ; it is a positive fact he 
never would admit that his treatment of his 
Dutch friends could not be forgiven by them, and 
that it had constituted something out of the 
common. For him Mr. Schreiner and Mr. 
Hofmeyr were enemies, not people he had 
betrayed, and though he was eager to be once 
more upon good terms with them, yet he wished 
them to own themselves in the wrong, not to 
forgive the way in which he had wronged them. 

He never would say what it was he really 
wanted ; it was for others to understand him, and 
to bear the consequences of not having done so 
properly, when events did not turn out as he had 
anticipated ; he was always ready to disavow those 
who had worked for him, or followed his lead, and 
yet there were moments when he could sacrifice 
himself, and rise to true greatness. One of the 
secrets to which he owed his large successes lay in 
his unerring instinct of what it was necessary he 
should do, when confronted by difficulties, no mat- 
ter of what nature. He had, what is so essential 
in politics, an unfailing tact, and together with it, 
R most extraordinary facility for changing his 
opinions according to the exigencies of the moment. 

341 



MY RECOLLECTIONS 

Take for instance his conduct towards the Emperor 
William. After haying loudly expressed his de- 
testation of the Kaiser, he became one of hi& 
most enthusiastic admirers. It was again a case in 
point of what flattery could do with him, as well as^ 
of his power of forgiveness when the parties wha 
had offended him ate humble pie, and consented ta 
worship at his shrine. 

A conversation I had with him one day, gave 
me an insight as to his inward feeling, which, I 
believe, few people even among his most intimate 
friends have ever had. I had been reading a book 
called The Martyrdom of Man, by Winwood 
Reade — a most remarkable work, which, by its 
clever arguments against the existence of a 
Divinity, could not fail to make a profound im- 
pression upon the mind of any one who had 
thought seriously over this particular matter. One 
day, during lunch at Groote Schuur, I accidentally 
mentioned it, adding that it was uncanny, and had 
caused me some sleepless nights. Rhodes started. 
* I know the book,' he exclaimed ; ' it is a creepy 
book. I read it the first year I was in Kimberleyy 
fresh from my father's parsonage, and you may 
imagine the impression which it produced upon 
me, in such a place as a mining camp.' He 
stopped for a moment, then added in a serious tone 
which I can hear even now, *That book has 
made me what I am.' He went on discussing 
it for a long time, but I shall never forget the 
peculiar way in which he said these words : * It 
has made me what I am.' 

342 



HIS INNER THOUGHTS 

I could well imagine the impression produced 
on his powerful mind by a work which, by its 
negation of the existence of a Supreme Master, 
to whom we are accountable for all our actions, 
gave him, so to say, a reason to justify in his own 
eyes many things which will never be forgiven him. 
In a mining camp, where morality is an unknown 
factor, where the struggle for life does not spare 
human life, the seeds sown into his intelligence by 
a book of the kind I am speaking of, were bound to 
produce an appalling effect by removing the only 
barrier which could have restrained him, the fear of 
having, on the day without morrow of eternity, 
to meet One before whom human triumphs melt 
away into that vanity of which speaketh the 
Preacher. 

Had Mr. Rhodes possessed faith, he would 
have indeed conquered the world. As it was, he 
only terrified it. All his life he remained in want 
of that something which hope and love can give. 
He felt this himself, and at the bottom of his heart 
there was a vague fear of the unknown, of what he 
was to meet hereafter. He hated the idea of 
death, had an absolute horror of sickness in any 
shape or form, and, though a brave man in appear- 
ance, was in certain things an arrant coward. 
There was in his nature a kind of vague regret 
for something he had missed, an unexpressed and 
unacknowledged dread of having after all to own, 
one day, that there existed a Being, before whom 
he would not be able to play the game, which 
old Pope Pius VI. described so well when 

343 



MY RECOLLECTIONS 

Napoleon tried it with him : ' Tragediante.' 
* Commediante.' 

Mr. Rhodes was also an actor in some things, 
but 1 believe it was always unknown to him- 
self. He had a power of assimilation, an ex- 
traordinary memory, and a marvellous way of 
appropriating to his own use any idea or remark 
made by others. The amalgamation of the 
Kimberley mines was not invented by him, and 
yet it is to be doubted whether any one else would 
have been capable to bring it about. The con- 
cessions obtained from Lobengula had been 
applied for by other people, and yet he was the 
only one to induce the dusky monarch to grant 
them. The only thing which was really the 
original idea of Mr. Rhodes, was the organization 
of De Beers into the powerful political instrument 
it has become, and it is probable that he had it 
in view when he worked so hard to ensure the 
amalgamation of these mines. 

His conduct during the war was consistent with 
all he had done before it broke out ; it had the same 
ambitions and the same want of principle which 
have characterised so many of his poUtical actions. 
It proceeded from his belief in his own ability, and 
his confidence that all he did was well done. And 
this belief in a certain sense was a true one, for it 
cannot be denied that had he been allowed years 
ago to do what he wanted, South Africa would be 
to-day a prosperous country, instead of the heap of 
ruins it has become. 

In spite of all these defects, faults and errors, 
344 



HIS CONDUCT DURING THE WAR 

he was a man one could not help loving when one 
knew him well. Indeed, it was always a case of 
love or hatred. Indifference was impossible to- 
wards this strange being who, with all the vices, 
the arrogance, the overbearing insolence of the 
race to which he belonged, possessed also an un- 
common attractiveness which drew towards him even 
his most passionate detractors. But the Rhodes of 
the last three years, was, as Mr. Dormer rightly 
says in his remarkable book, Vengeance as a 
Policy in Africanderland, no longer the Rhodes 
of former days. Bad influences had completely 
mastered him, and, in spite of his affected cynicism, 
remorse was grinding him down ; only, instead of 
frankly acknowledging it, he tried to revenge himself 
upon others for his own foUies and mistakes. For 
women he had a supreme contempt, and at the 
same time was more under their influence than 
the world suspected or guessed. He liked to see 
high-born ladies at his feet ; there as in everything 
else he liked to conquer. His temperament was 
naturally shy, and his curious way of speaking 
often produced, especially at first, an unpleasant 
impression. He had at times an irresistible impulse 
to tell the truth, much as he would have liked to 
suppress it. Thus, meeting Sir Donald Mackenzie 
Wallace, the author of a celebrated book about 
Russia, at dinner at Sandringham, he could not 
help telling him, that it was in that book he found 
the idea of the Glen Grey Act, adding, * You are 
the real author of it.' 

For money he had an inordinate love, and 
345 



MY RECOLLECTIONS 

at the same time a supreme contempt. But he 
was guilty of the same mistake which Bismarck 
made — he beUeved that every man had his price. 
On two memorable occasions he found this was 
not the case. The first one was a blow to his 
vanity, the second broke his heart, and sent him 
unforgiving and rebellious to his grave. He died 
as he had lived, deserving of better things, neither 
properly appreciated, nor sufficiently loved, an 
enigma of which the solution will never be found. 
Of his immense labours the very traces will soon 
disappear, others will reap and are already reaping 
the benefit of them. The country that bears his 
name is destined to be absorbed in the Empire 
of which he had counted to become one of the 
masters. Of all he did, planned, achieved, nothing 
will soon remain but the evil, for according to 
Shakespeare's famous words, the good he ever did 
' is interred with his bones.' In Europe his name 
is seldom mentioned, in South AMca it is 
already half forgotten ; even the attempt to raise 
him a public monument has failed. The Sic transit 
gloria mundi has never been more forcibly illus- 
trated than in the case of Cecil Rhodes. 



346 



MANCHURIA AND 
KOREA. 

By H. J. WHIGHAM, 

Author of^The Persian Problem.^ 

Demy 8vo. with Map and Illustrations, 
7 J. (id. 

An Examination of the situation in Manchuria 

and Korea as it affects British interests, and 

containing a description of the countries 

and their inhabitants. 

The Globe. — 'This is the very latest of the many books on the 
"Farthest East" in Asia. The author, Mr. H.J. Whigham, whose 
work as a correspondent is so well known, writes of the things which 
he has personally seen and knows. He is no mere theorist. Written 
at the close of 1903, the book is thoroughly up-to-date, and is ex- 
tremely interesting and valuable.' 

The Dundee Advertiser. — ' Any one who wishes to have a wider 
view of the whole question than can be obtained from newspaper 
articles must study this book at first hand.' 

Vanity Fair. — 'Mr. Whigham treats the vast and fascinating 
problem of Russian expansion with the skill and knowledge of a 
master, and discusses with authority all those problems of spheres of 
influence, international agreements and military conditions which 
have been keeping so many powerful brains busy in the Foreign 
Offices of Europe, and in humbler places.' 

Literary World, — 'At the present juncture this volume may be 
safely commended to the careful attention of all who wish to 
thoroughly understand the situation in the Far East.' 

ISBISTER & COMPANY, 
15 & 16 Tavistock Street, Covent Garden, London, W.C. 



* Mr. Whigham has done admirable service to the country.^ 
Sir Charles Dilke in the Morning Post. 

THE 

PERSIAN PROBLEM. 

An Examination into the rival positions of Russia and 

Great Britain in Persia, with some account of 

the Persian Gulf and Bagdad Railway. 

By H. J. WHIGHAM. 

* Mr. Whigham's book is a most useful and opportune contribution 
to the study of a problem of which the country will probably hear a 
good deal in the near future. . . . The chapters on the Persian Gulf 
are admirable.' — The Titties. 

With Maps and Illustrations. 
Demy 8vo. Price las. 6d. 

* The student of South African politics will find it well 
worth perusal.' — St. James's Gazette. 

ON THE VELDT IN THE 
SEVENTIES. 

By Lieut. -Gen. Sir CHARLES WARREN, 
G.C.M.G., K.C.B. 

'A graphic picture of the country, its peoples, and a special com- 
missioner's duties.' — Times. 

* A volume of singular interest.' — Morning Post. 
' A perfectly delightful volume.' 

Illustrated Dramatic and Sporting News. 

With Illustrations and Maps. 
Demy 8vo. Price i6s. 

ISBISTER & COMPANY, 
15 & i6 Tavistock Street, Covent Garden, London, W.C. 



STANDARD WORKS FOR SOLDIERS. 



WAR IN PRACTICE. 

By Major B. F. S. BADEN - POWELL, 

With an Introduction by 
Major-Gen. R. S. S. BADEN - POWELL. 

' " War in Practice ' is a book which should not be lost in the 
torrent of literature which the South African War has caused. . . . 
Major Baden-Powell is a capable soldier, who has seen much work in 
the field, and his pages bear the fruit of his experience. . . . He has 
written a book which soldiers should read.' — Army and Navy Gazette. 

' . . . He has succeeded in compiling a very useful text-book, which 
will increase in value as the ranks of the army fill up with a generation 
that has had no experience of war.' — TTie Times. 

' Major Baden-Powell's book is a valuable contribution to military 
literature, and should not be merely read, but pondered over by all 
soldiers.' — The Broad Arrow. 

Fully Illustrated with Diagrams 
AND Reproductions of Photographs. 

Cloth, crown 8vo. Price 5s. 

SOME LESSONS FROM 
THE BOER WAR, 

1899- 1902. 

By Colonel T. D. PILCHER, C.B., A.D.C., 

Commanding znd Battalion Bedfordshire Regiment. 

* Few (war books) will probably have in the same degree the merit 
.of saying what they have to say and being done with it. By soldier 
readers Colonel Pilcher's practical and precise brevity should be widely 
ippreciated.' — Pall Mall Gazette. 

* Though small, this is one of the most useful of the books of the 
war, and will be most valuable to the young officer.' — Leeds Mercury. 

' No practical soldier ought to be without Colonel Pilcher's work.' 

Academy. 
' One of the very best books yet written upon the military lessons of 
the Boer War.' — Army and Navy Gazette. 

Crown 8vo. Price as. 6d. 

ISBISTER & COMPANY, 
15 & 16 Tavistock. Street, Covent Garden, London, W.C. 



Sir Robert Ball recommends ^Astronomy for Everybody^ as 

the best book to put in the hands of a beginner who 

desires to learn something of the Heavens. 

ASTRONOMY 
FOR EVERYBODY. 

A Popular Exposition of the wonders of the Heavens. 

By SIMON NEWCOMB, LL.D., 

who, to use Sir Robert Ball's words, is ' our leading authority 

on certain most difficult branches of Mathematical 

Astronomy, and other parts of the 

same Science.' 

' Students of the stars, of eclipses, and of similar wonders of the 
heavens, will find the language of the book easily understood, and 
delightful to peruse.' — Scotsman. 

' It is a brilliant elementary book, captivating to the mind, and 
inevitably leaving a large impress of knowledge.' — Aberdeen Free Press. 

' Professor Newcomb has given us a handbook well-nigh perfect of 
its kind, with illustrations and diagrams of the most modern, with 
thorough histories of the more important triumphs of our time, and 
with lucid expressions of the recent points in modern solar and stellar 
speculations. His book is designed for scholars, but the knowledge is 
set forth simply, and without the jangling and confusing jargon of 
technicalities. . . . Professor Newcomb's book is quite the best Ele- 
mentary Astronomy we have ever seen.' — Speaker. 

' To a profound knowledge of his subject Professor Newcomb 
unites a graceful literary style, and indeed it would be difficult to find 
a more attractive volume to put into the hands of the budding student.' 

To-Day. 

' A large experience of books of its class allows us to say that it is, 
on the whole, the best of them.' — Morning Post. 

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troduction which it bears from Sir Robert Ball.' — Pall Mall Gazette. 

' The charm of his (Professor Newcomb's) literary style, his sim- 
plicity in dealing with the great questions of the heavens, must appeal 
to all.' — Daily Express. 

* It is admirably done, and should be in the hands of every one who 
desires to look intelligently at the sky, or understand the principles 
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ASTRONOMY for EVERYBODY 

Demy 8vo. Illustrated. ']s, bd. 

ISBISTER &- COMPANY, 
15 dr' 1 6 Tavistock Street, Covent Garden, London, W.C. 



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